Particle I in Tahitian – Location, time, object, achievement – Ia

This lesson is dedicated to the particle i and its different uses in Tahitian grammar. If I tell you: the particle i in Tahitian? You tell me, it’s good, we already know! You will be amazed! We have just started to see how to use it.

The particle i, location particle

We learned in the previous lesson: Make a sentence in Tahitian – Particle I, no, na, that the particle i is the location particle.

Particle	Detail
I	Location particle that says: the final place to which we will move (I’m going to…) and also the place where you are without travel (I’m at…)

For example :

Tahitian	English
Tē haere nei au i te haapiiraa	I’m going to school (the case: I’m going to……)
I tera ra tau, tē noho ra ‘o Hina i Tahiti	At that time, Hina lived in Tahiti (the case: I’m at …)

The particle i, time particle

In the lesson Yesterday, today, tomorrow in Tahitian – Locate in time – A’e, iho and the following ones in the serie on complement of time. We notice that the complement of time start with the particle i. So, i is the time particle.

Particle	Detail
I	Time particle that introduces time markers

For example :

Tahitian	English
I teie nei	Now
I teie (nei) mahana	Today
I tera ra tau	During that time

The particle i, object particle

In previous lessons, some of you have noticed that the particle i has another function.

Particle	Detail
I	Object particle which introduces the object of the action

Do you remember the direct object and the indirect object ?

• Direct Object ; to answer the questions: what, who, what …
• Indirect Object ; to answer questions: to whom, to what …

In Tahitian, the particle i plays this function of introducing the direct object and the indirect object. There is no distinction between the direct object and the indirect object in Tahitian, we simply speak of object complement. (For once, it’s simple, you have to take advantage of it!)

For example :

Tahitian	English
Tē haapii ra vau i te reo tahiti	I’ve been learning Tahitian for a while now
Ua hamani ‘o Mama i te māa	Mom makes food
Tē haere ra ‘o Hina i tai e tii i te miti	Hina is going to the sea to fetch seawater (the i of i tai is based on location particle)

The particle i becomes ia

And yes ! I becomes ia at times, let’s explain that.

Grammar rule: The particle i becomes ia

When the particle has the function of object particle, the particle i becomes ia: in front of the personal pronouns subject (I, you, he…) and proper nouns.

For example :

Tahitian	English
Tē haapii nei au ia ‘oe i te reo tahiti	I’m teaching you Tahitian
Tē haapii nei au i to ‘oe tuahine i te reo tahiti	I’m teaching Tahitian to your sister

a) Personal pronouns subject with ia

You remember this table from the lesson: Introduce yourself in Tahitian – I, you, he – Vau, au – Who

Singular	Dual	Plural
Vau / au          I‘U              after a particle	Tāua        you and meMāua       he / she / it and me	Tātou       you and meMātou      them and me
‘Oe                  you	Ôrua        both of you	‘Outou      you
‘O na, ‘O ia      he / she / itNa            after a particle	Rāua       both of them	Rātou       they

It becomes with ia:

Singular	Dual	Plural
Vau / au          IIa ‘u              after a particle	Ia tāua        you and meIa māua       he / she / it and me	Ia tātou       you and meIa mātou      them and me
Ia ‘oe                  you	Ia ôrua        both of you	Ia ‘outou      you
‘O na, ‘O ia      he / she / itIa na            after a particle	Ia rāua       both of them	Ia rātou       they

b) Proper nouns with i and ia depending on the case

For proper names, here is the rule:

Grammar rule: Proper nouns with i and ia depending on the case

Depending on the case, we use with the proper nouns either the particle i or either ia: If the proper noun designates a location in the sentence, we use the particle i If the proper nouns is in object function (object complement), we use ia

For example :

Tahitian	English
Tē haere nei au i Papeete	I’m going to Papeete
Tē noho nei au i Papeete	I’m living in Papeete
Tē ‘imi nei au ia Papeete	I’m looking for Papeete

The particle i, achievement particle

We have already encountered it in the lesson: The negation in Tahitian – Eere, eita, aita by learning Eere, Eita and Aita, the markers of negation.

Particle	Detail
I	Achievement particle found in negation and relative propositions

For example :

Tahitian	English
Aita ‘o Hina i haere i te haapiiraa	Hina did not go to school
Te reo ta ‘oe i haapii	The language you learned

Illustrative text

We will illustrate the different uses of the particle i through this text.

Tahitian	English	Explanation
I teie nei mahana,	Today,	The particle i introduces time
tē haere nei au i te fare haapiiraa i Papeete	I’m going to school, in Papeete	The particle i introduces the location (the school) and introduces a proper noun which designates a location (Papeete, which is the capital of French Polynesia)
no te haapii mai i te reo tahiti.	to learn Tahitian.	Here, “no” translates to “to”.The particle i introduces the object (we ask ourselves the question: to learn what? Tahitian)
Te reo tahiti, te reo no ‘u.	Tahitian, my language.
Te reo te ‘orometua i haapii atu ia mātou: i to’u tuahine, ia Mere e ia ‘ u.	The language that the teacher teaches us: my sister, Mere and me.	The particle i before haapii is present to initiate the relative proposition (which the professor teaches us).It is used before “mātou” and “‘u” (us and me) which are personal pronouns subject and in the function of object  (my teacher teaches whom? Us and me). Idem ia before “Mere” which is a proper noun and in object function. For “to’u tuahine”, the particle i does not transform into ia
I teie nei mahana,	Today,	The particle i introduces time
aita ‘o Mere i tae mai i te fare haapiiraa.	Mere did not come to school.	The particle i is present for the negationThe negation in Tahitian – Eere, eita, aita
Ua ma’i hia ‘o na.	She is sick.	It is the first time that we meet “hia”, that we will develop in a next lesson

Vocabulary related to the text

The new vocabulary is as follows:

Tahitian	English
Te fare haapiiraa	The school (building)
Te haapiiraa	The school, the teaching, the lesson
Te ‘orometua	The teacher, the instructor
Tae	To arrive, to reach

As a reminder on vocabulary or grammatical construction already known:

Tahitian	English	Previous lesson
No te + Verb	To, For	Adjectives in Tahitian- E mea – Particle I, No – Suffix raa
Haapii mai	To learn	Where are you from in Tahitian – Where are you going – Mai, atu
Haapii atu	To teach	Where are you from in Tahitian – Where are you going – Mai, atu
Te reo tahiti	The Tahitian language	The present tense in Tahitian – E, Tē…nei, Tē…ra
No ‘u	My, mine	Me, you, him in Tahitian – it is me, with me, for me, at my home, by me
Te tuahine	The sister	The family in Tahitian
Ma’i	Sick	The health in Tahitian – Verbs, adjectives, professions, places

Let’s sum-up…

Through this lesson, we have just learned 42 words and expressions in Tahitian. We have learned the different uses of the particle i and we know in which cases the particle i becomes ia.

For the next lessons, we expect to know more about:

• relative propositions
• “Hia”

See you soon, for a next lesson.