Launchpad itself

Plurals in Maori

Asked by Chris Cormack

In maori, when talking about things there are 2 forms,
for 1 item, te eg te tepu = the table
2 or more ngā eg ngā tepu = the tables

Its more complicated when talking about possesions

taku tepu = my table
aku tepu = my tables

toku hoa = my friend
oku hoa = my friends

Hope this helps

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Jeroen T. Vermeulen (jtv) said : 		#1

The complication for possessions shouldn't affect the choice of form; it only affects the actual texts of the singular/plural translations.

Just one more thing: what happens when there are zero tables? Singular, plural, or absolutely have to say it differently?

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Chris Cormack (chris-bigballofwax) said : 		#2

Singular when none exist is fine.

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Jeroen T. Vermeulen (jtv) said : 		#3

Thank you for the information; it has been entered into the system.

The question about zero tables may seem strange, but note that in English and some other languages one uses the plural: 0 tables, 1 table, 2 tables. Maori is now configured to use the singular for zero: 0 table, 1 table, 2 tables.

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