The present tense in Tahitian – E, Tē…nei, Tē…ra

In this lesson, we will learn how to conjugate verbs in the present tense in Tahitian and to make sentences in the present tense.

This lesson is related to the previous lesson: Conjugate in Tahitian. In this lesson, we will see cases 1. and 2.

Codification (underline, bold, italic)

First, in this lesson, we will adopt the following codification that we have already used in the lesson: Make a sentence in Tahitian – Particle I, no, na

Tahitian	English	Grammatical component
Tē haere nei	to go	VERB
au	I	SUBJECT
i te haapiiraa	At school	COMPLEMENT

A quick reminder: How to conjugate in Tahitian?

In the previous lesson Conjugate in Tahitian, we saw that to conjugate, we have several scenarios:

1. No indication of the degree of accomplishment of the action (for example: It is a house)
2. Action in progress
   1. Here, now, right now (for example: I’m going to school)
   2. For a while now, I’ve started and I’m still…
   3. Yesterday, I was doing…
3. Action accomplished
4. Action to come

The present tense in Tahitian

Cases 1. , 2. and 3. can be translated into present tense in English. In this lesson, we will see cases 1. and 2.

1) No indication of the degree of accomplishment of the action

Straightforward, here’s the rule.

Conjugation rule: No indication of the degree of accomplishment of the action

In Tahitian, the structure is as follows: E – SUBJECT – COMPLEMENT

Let’s illustrate with an example:

Tahitian	English	Matching
E fare teie.	It’s a house.	Present simple tense

And, “e,” what is it?

Particle	Detail
E	Zero-aspect particle because it does not give any indication of the degree of achievement of the action Gives information on the nature, the essence of a thing, of a person

2) Action in progress

Meet nei

Before I go any further, I would like to introduce you to a very important concept: nei.

Tahitian	English
Nei	Here and now This is the place and the moment of the present tense, we speak of space-time of the nei

2 possible cases

We differentiate what is being in progress:

• in the “nei” in the space-time of here and now
• or breaking with the “nei”

2a) In progress in the “nei” – present continuous tense (called also, present progressive)

The enunciator sees the action as in progress: the action is started but not yet completed, in the space-time of the nei (here and now). This is the equivalent of the present continuous tense (called also, present progressive) (in progress)

Conjugation Rule: Action in progress in the “nei”

In Tahitian, the structure is as follows: TĒ + VERB + NEI + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENT

With an example to illustrate the rule:

Tahitian	English	Matching
Tē haere nei au i te haapiiraa.	I’m going to school.	Present continuous tense (called also, present progressive)

Small pause: If you need to reread to better understand the lesson. It’s a good time. We’re halfway through the lesson.

2b) In progress breaking with the “nei”

The rule is:

Conjugation rule: Action in progress breaking with the “nei”

In Tahitian, the structure is as follows: TĒ + VERB + RA + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENT

The action takes place in the “ra”.

Tahitian	English
Ra	The place and the moment where the action takes place, do not coincide with the present (the “nei”), we speak of space-time of the ra Beware, the “ra” is not the space-time of the past

We have 3 scenarios:

1. The action began in the past and continues in the present
2. Equivalent of the nei, in the space-time of the nei, but there is a real or psychological distance between the action and the enunciator
3. Action in progress in the past tense. Translates into the imperfect

Tahitian	English	Matching
Tē haapii ra au i te reo tahiti.	I’ve been learning Tahitian for a while now.	Present perfect continuous tense
Tē haere ra ‘o na i te haapiiraa.	He’s going to school (and I’m making a distance between this action and me talking).	Distance
I tera ra tau, tē noho ra ‘o Hina i Tahiti.	At that time, Hina lived in Tahiti.	Past simple tense

In these examples, we come across new vocabulary:

Tahitian	English
Te reo	Voice, language
Te reo tahiti	The Tahitian language
Te tau	The time
I tera ra tau	In those days
Noho	Stay, live

And then what?

You now know how to conjugate verbs and make sentences in the present tense in Tahitian. This is another step in the “reo tahiti” learning. Yippee! Finally, with this lesson, we learned 13 words or vocabulary phrases.  See you soon for a next lesson