Hawaiian grammar
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This article summarizes grammar in the Hawaiian language.
Contents
Syntax
Hawaiian is a predominantly verb–subject–object language. One exception is if the sentence has a negative mood and the subject is a pronoun, in which case word order is subject–verb–object instead (e.g. ʻaʻole ʻo ia e puka ana, "not he [future] graduate [single event]", "he won't graduate"). Another exception is that if there is an emphatic adverbial phrase at the start of the sentence, a pronoun subject precedes the verb.[1]:p.29 Word order is flexible, and the emphatic word can be placed first in the sentence.[1]:p28 Hawaiian largely avoids subordinate clauses,[1]:p.27 and often uses a possessive construction instead.[1]:p.41
Within the noun phrase, adjectives follow the noun (e.g. ka hale liʻiliʻi "the house small", "the small house"), while possessors precede it (e.g. kou hale "your house"). Numerals precede the noun in the absence of the definite article, but follow the noun if the noun is preceded by the definite article.[1]:p.31
Hawaiian, like English, is a non-pro-drop language. Nonetheless, there is an exception with commands, where the use of subject pronouns is optional. In these cases, the subject pronoun is seldom used if the context deems it unnecessary, as in e hele i ke kula "[imperfective] go to the school", "go to school"; here, the subject "you" is understood, and can be omitted.
Yes-no questions can be unmarked and expressed by intonation,[2]:p.32 or they can be marked by placing anei after the leading word of the sentence.[1]:p.23 Examples of question-word questions are He aha kēia? "A what this?", "What is this?" and 'O wai kou inoa "[subject] who your name?", "What is your name?"
The typical detailed word order is given by the following,[1]:p.19 with most items optional:
- (a) Tense/aspect signs: i, ua, e, etc.
- (b) Verb
- (c) Qualifying adverb: mau, wale, ole, pu, etc.
- (d) Passive sign: 'ia
- (e) Verbal directives: aku, mai, etc.
- (f) Locatives nei or lā, or particles ana or ai
- (g) Strengthening particle: no
- (h) Subject
- (i) Object or predicate noun
See also Hawaiian Language: Syntax and other resources.
Nouns
A verb can be nominalized by preceding it with the definite article.[1]:p.37
Gender
In Hawaiian, there is no grammatical gender. The word for third person (he, she, it) is ia. It is commonly preceded by ʻo as in ʻo ia but should always be written as two words, never as one.
Number and articles
In Hawaiian, the noun usually does not change form to determine the number. Rather, the article changes to determine the number.
Generally, the singular definite articles are ke when the noun begins with the letter k, e, a, or o and ka when the noun begins with any other letter. The plural definite article is nā. The singular indefinite article is he. Examples:
- ka puke (the book) vs. nā puke (the books)
- ke pākaukau (the table) vs. nā pākaukau (the tables)
- He kanaka maikaʻi ia. ('A-person-good-s/he.' S/He is a good person.)
Some nouns lengthen the antepenultimate vowel in the plural:
- ke kanaka (the person) vs. nā kānaka (the people)
- ka wahine (the woman) vs. nā wāhine (the women)
To pluralize nouns marked with a possessive, add mau between the possessive and the noun.
- kaʻu mau puke (my books)
- kona mau puke (his books)
Class
Most Hawaiian nouns belong to one of two classes, known as the kino ʻō (o-class) and the kino ʻā (a-class). Classes are only taken into account when using the genitive case (see table of personal pronouns below).
Kino ʻō nouns, in general, are nouns whose creation cannot be controlled by the subject, such as inoa "name", puʻuwai "heart", and hale "house". Specific categories for o-class nouns include: modes of transportation (e.g. kaʻa "car" and lio "horse"), things that you can sit on or wear (e.g. noho "chair", ʻeke "bag", and lole "clothes"), and people in your generation and previous generations (e.g. makuahine "mother").
Kino ʻā nouns, in general, are those whose creation can be controlled, such as waihoʻoluʻu "color", as in kaʻu waihoʻoluʻu punahele "my favorite color". Specific categories include: your boyfriend or girlfriend (ipo) and future generations in your line (all of your descendants, but not your siblings' descendants).
Demonstrative determiners
| Demonstrative determiners | Proximal | Medial | Distal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | kēia | kēnā | kēlā |
| Plural | kēia mau | kēnā mau | kēlā mau |
Personal pronouns
| Singular (1) | Dual (2) | Plural (3+) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st incl. | 1st excl. | 2nd | 3rd | 1st incl. | 1st excl. | 2nd | 3rd | |||
| Case | Nominative | au | ʻoe | ia | kāua | māua | ʻolua | lāua | kākou | mākou | ʻoukou | lākou | |
| Genitive | a-class | kaʻu | kāu | kāna | kā kāua | kā māua | kā ʻolua | kā lāua | kā kākou | kā mākou | kā ʻoukou | kā lākou | |
| o-class | koʻu | kou | kōna | kō kāua | kō māua | kō ʻolua | kō lāua | kō kākou | kō mākou | kō ʻoukou | kō lākou | ||
| affectionate | kuʻu | kō | Only used in 1st and 2nd person singular. | ||||||||||
| Accusative, Dative |
iaʻu | iā ʻoe | iā ia | iā kāua | iā māua | iā ʻolua | iā lāua | iā kākou | iā mākou | iā ʻoukou | iā lākou | ||
The a-class possessive pronouns refer to alienable possession, as with boats, children, clothing, and spouses. The o-class possessive pronouns refer to inalienable (incapable of being begun or ended) possession, as with parents and body parts.[2]:p.26
Verbs
Tense, aspect, and mood
Verbs can be analytically modified to indicate tense, aspect and mood as follows:[1]:p.19
- ua + verb: perfective aspect, past tense; or perfect tense/aspect (ua hana au "I worked", "I have worked"). Note that the pre-verbal marker ua is often omitted in speech.
- ua + verb + e: pluperfect tense/aspect (ua hana e au "I had worked")
- i + verb: past tense (i hana au "I worked"); or, perfect participle (i hana "having worked", "who had worked")
- e + verb + ana: imperfective aspect (e hana ana au "I was working", "I will be working")
- ke + verb + nei: present tense, progressive aspect (ke hana nei au "I am working")
- e + verb: future tense/mood (e hana au "I will work"); or, infinitive (e hana "to work"); or, imperative mood (e hana oe "Work thou!")
- mai + verb: negative imperative mood
Other verbal particles
Passive voice is indicated by the post-verbal auxiliary 'ia.
Other post-verbal markers include[3]:pp.228–231
- verb + mai: "toward the speaker"
- verb + aku: "away from the speaker"
- verb + iho: "down"
- verb + a'e: "up", "adjacent"
- stative verb + iā + agent: agent marker
Causative verb creation
Causative verbs can be created from nouns and adjectives by using the prefix ho'o-, as illustrated in the following:[2]:p.24
- nani "pretty"; ho'onani "to beautify"
- nui "large"; ho'onui "to enlarge"
- hui "club"; ho'ohui "to form a club"
Reduplication
Reduplication[2]:p.23 can emphasize or otherwise alter the meaning of a word. Examples are:
- 'au "to swim"; 'au'au "to bathe"
- ha'i "to say"; ha'iha'i "to speak back and forth"
- ma'i "sick"; ma'ima'i "chronically sick"
