OF THE CONJUNCTIONS.
_Me_, _while_; _Me_ te hongi, _me_ te tangi, _and saluting, and
crying_; i. e., _while saluting he is crying_.
_With_;[28] E mahi ana _me_ te whakaaro ano ki te utu, he is working,
_and_ is at the same time mindful of payment.
Inoi atu _me_ te ngakau aroha, pray _with_ a loving heart.
Haere tahi _me_ ia, went together _with_ him.
_As_; _Me_ koutou hoki i wakarere i to koutou kainga, _as_ ye also
left your country.
{ o }
_Me_ { & } mua, _as formerly_.
{ to }
_Me_ mua,[29] idem.
_As far as_; _Me_ konei, _me_ Waitemata, _as far as from here to
Waitemata_.
_If_; _Me he mea_ e pai ana, _if he is willing_. _Me_ i kahore koe,
if it had not been for you.
_Ma_, _and_, (a numeral conjunction.) vid. numerals, page 24.
_Mei_, (Waikato) _inasmuch as, as you may judge from_, (vid. _hoki_.
Same as _ina hoki_ of Ngapuhi.)
_Koia_, _therefore_; _koia_ i riri ai, _therefore was he angry_.
_Na_ and _a_. These particles are of very great use in Maori. They
correspond very closely with particle _vāhv_ of Hebrew, and may be
recognised in our translations as occupying the place of _and_,
_then_, _therefore_, _but_, &c. Those who have not access to Professor
Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon, will, we are sure, read with pleasure his
remarks upon its parallel in Hebrew. "It was a part of the simplicity
of ancient language to mark merely the connexion of ideas, without
expressing those nice distinctions of thought, which are designated by
the use of _causal_, _adversative_, _disjunctive_, and other
conjunctions. The prefix _vahv_ retains this variety of signification,
though other more definite conjunctions are also in use." This is
precisely the case with Maori.
_Ina_, _ua_, (_ana_, Waikato) _when_; _Ina_ korero ahau, _when_ I
speak.
_If_, (occasionally,) chiefly in cases in which contingency is
attached to _when_:
Ma wai e whai, _ina_ tere? _who is to follow it, (the canoe) if it
drifts?_
_Heoi_ (Ngapuhi), and heoti (Waikato), is a particle which
corresponds sometimes with _a_, and _na_, in its uses. It generally,
however, implies opposition, and might be translated by _but_, &c.
Sometimes also, it has the meaning of _so_, _then_, and sometimes,
(particularly in Waikato,) it is, in the end of sentences, redundant.
_Ara_, _and then_, &c.; e. g.,
_Ara_ te meatanga atu a Hone, _and then John replied_.
NOTE.--This particle is very often used as an adverb for videlicet,
forsooth, &c.
Mo, } reira.
No, } for that cause, therefore.[30]
Na, }
Mona i tahae, _because_ he stole.
Inake ano, _Inake ano_ i kore ai e tupu, _a good reason_ indeed why
it did not grow (_thence, from that cause_.)
Ina whai ano (Waikato), idem.
Otira, }
Otiraia, }
Ia, } _but_, and _nevertheless_.
Raia, }
Atiia, (Waikato) }
Huatu, }
Kaore, and kahore, }
Tena ko tenei, } All these belong to the adversative
Tena, } (_sometimes_) } class, and denote _but_ with some
Ko, } } peculiarity however of the meaning and
E ngari, } (_sometimes_) } construction which can only be learned
E rangi, } } by practice.
E ngaro, }
E ao ia, }
Ahakoa; _although, ahakoa_ roa noa te tohe e kore e marere,
_although you importune long it will not be granted_.
NOTE.--Ahakoa will almost always precede in the sentence, e. g., The
following "though we were sinners he loved us," should thus be
rendered _ahakoa_ hara noa tatou arohaina ana tatou e ia.
Following are a few examples of phrases which supply the place of
conjunctions:
_Ki te_ kahore e pai, _if_ he is not pleased.
_Ki te wa_ haere, _if_ you go.
_Ka pa_ nau, _if_ it had been yours.
_Ka pa tao_ (Ngapuhi) or tau (Waikato) na tatou, _if_ it had been we
that had done it.
Patu, ka aha? _If_ I beat him, what better will he be? lit. beat
him, what is (effected?)
I tika ano i a au, _titiro ana_ koe wahia iho, _I had put it all to
rights_, and you go _and break it in pieces_.
E korerotia atu ana, e whakatika mai ana, _he is spoken to, he rises
up_, i. e., _when_ I speak to him, he rises up against me.
_Pera hoki me_ Hana e whakatoi nei, _just as Hana teases_.
_Mana_ ka tika, _mana_ ka he, _even though_, (no matter whether,)
_it be right or wrong_.
Ko reira, _then_.
The particle _ai_ is very useful in supplying the place of
conjunctions. (Vid. our remarks on it.)
[28] This particle will often supply a good substitute for _with_,
when it denotes connexion, &c., a meaning which we believe to be but
seldom expressed by _ki_. (vid. prepositions, page 55.)
[29] Some foreigners, we observe, use _me i mua_; this, however, is
decidedly erroneous.
[30] The learned student will, however, notice that these words, as
well as _keia_, are only prefixed to conclusions which are the
_natural and necessary effect_ of a preceding proposition. For
example, we might use _mo reira_, &c., in such a sentence as the
following: "Men are sinners, _therefore_ men are exposed to the wrath
of God:" because the preceding proposition is clearly a _cause_ of the
latter.
We could not, however, use any of them in such propositions as the
following: "the Tohungas are liars, _therefore_ the New Zealander
listens to liars;" "the Sun shines, _therefore_ the sun is a luminous
body;" "man is an animal, _therefore_ man has sensation;" because it
would not be true to say, that, because the Tohunga is a liar, he is
therefore listened to; because the sun shines it is luminous; or,
because man is an animal he has sensation.
Wherever, then, the connection with the preceding proposition is
either _accidental_ or _abstract_, we must have recourse to other
words, such as _na_, _a_, _ra_, _pea_, &c., and these are largely used
in our translations. (vid. Mat. 5, 37--24--42, and N. T. _passim_.)
The affirmative particles _ina_ and _ae ra_ will often supply a good
substitute, and will perhaps be logically correct. For the conclusion
is the proposition that we _in principio_ affirm to be true, and
having proved it, we then authoritatively pronounce it to be so. (vid.
our remarks on _ae_, &c., note, under adverbs of _affirmation_.)