Maori Unpacked, 16, The indefinite article
16
The indefinite article
I keep thinking about the lunch I just had!
I'll try not to think about eating food but just about unpacking it.
kai, food
te kai, the food. Singular
ngaa kai, the foods, plural
he, a, some
he is the indefinite article
he kai. some food
he kai kawa, some sour food
he kai reka, some sweet food
So we could put the indefinite article he in a box and clip it to the Noun Box alongside te and ngaa, the definite articles.
And now for that detective work!
Where is my fingerprint powder and my magnifying glass and my Sherlock Holmes hat?
If we made a mobile we might put it over the sugar so that when people made a cup of tea for guests they might be reminded to ask,
He huka? Some sugar?
He miraka? Some milk?
Unpacking into invisibility? The packing that you don't see. The suitcase with the false compartment. The secret space behind the bookshelf...
How about implying something?
He mea reka te huka?
Is the sugar a sweet thing?
Mea or thing is redundant. Let's make it invisible. Let's imply it, let's embed it.
He reka te huka?
Is the sugar sweet?.
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