In this lesson, we will learn how to say if in Tahitian, if… then and the particle of the assumption ‘ahiri.
Say if in Tahitian
In this first chapter, we will learn how to say if, if… then.
If in Tahitian
Straightforward, here are the grammatical constructions of this lesson:
| Function | Detail | Simple grammatical construction |
| The assumption | Affimative | ‘AHIRI + SUBJECT + I + VERB |
| Negative | ‘AHIRI + SUBJECT + AITA I + VERB |
If … then in Tahitian
In the second proposition, the use of the anaphoric ia is translated by then. It makes the link between the 2 propositions.
We will see the detail of this anaphoric ia in a future lesson.
| Function | Detail | Complex grammatical construction |
| The assumption | Affimative | ‘AHIRI + SUBJECT + I + VERB, VERB + IA + SUBJECT |
| Negative | ‘AHIRI + SUBJECT + AITA I + VERB, VERB + IA + SUBJECT |
The ‘Ahiri particle
I introduce you to the particle ‘Ahiri.
| Particle | Detail |
| ‘Ahiri | Particle of the assumption, it introduces an event that has not occurred yet |
Examples
In this second chapter, let’s illustrate with examples:
| Tahitian | English |
| ‘Ahiri ‘o Hina i haere mai e tāia, ua roaa ia ‘o na te mau i’a | If Hina had come fished, she would have caught fishes |
| ‘Ahiri te mīmī i haere i rāpae, ua roaa ia ‘o na te mau ‘iore | If the cat had gone outside, it would have caught mice |
| ‘Ahiri ‘oe aita i ho’i mai, ua haere ia ‘u e ‘imi ia ‘oe | If you hadn’t come home, I would have gone to get you |
| ‘Ahiri ‘oe aita i pāhono i ta’u niuniu, e māuiui ia to’u māfatu | If you hadn’t answered the phone, I would have had a heartache |
The already known vocabulary
The already known vocabulary is as follows, it appears in green. Grammatical constructions appear in red.
- ‘O,’ oe, ‘u,’ o na: Introduce yourself in Tahitian – I, you, he – Vau, au – Who
- First 30 verbs in Tahitian
- Haere = To go
- Haere mai = To come
- ‘Imi = To search
- Pāhono = To answer
- Tāia = To fish: The one who in Tahitian – That who, these who, those who
- Ua, E: The past tense and the future tense in Tahitian – Ua, E/Ua
- Roaa = To get got, to get caught: Say I wish in Tahitian – I do not wish – Ia, the wish particle
- Te mau = the (plural): A, the in Tahitian – Te, te mau – Tāne, vahine
- The animals in Tahitian
- Te ‘iore = The mouse
- Te i’a = The fish
- Te mīmī = The cat
- I rāpae = Outside, out: Locate in space in Tahitian – Locatives (Front, behind) – Tei
- Ho’i =To come back, to return: Means of transport in Tahitian – Means of locomotion
- Ia: Particle I in Tahitian – Location, time, object, achievement – Ia
- Ta’u, to’u = My: My name is in Tahitian – My, your, his – To’u, ta’u
- The health in Tahitian – Verbs, adjectives, professions, places
- Māuiui = To have pain
- Te māfatu = The heart
The new vocabulary
Here is the new vocabulary:
| Tahitian | English |
| Te niuniu | The wire, the telephone, to call on the phone |
And after ?
With this lesson we have just learned to say if, if… then. And also, we learned 10 vocabulary words and expressions.