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A pronoun is a word which we might use instead of using their name - for example, instead of saying "John is walking" we might say "he is walking".
In English, the pronouns are "I", "you", "he", "she", "we" and "they" when the person being referred to is the one doing an action. ("I am going", "he is singing", "they are running".) English also has pronouns for when the person being referred is the object of the sentence: "me", "him", "her", "us" and "them". ("They gave it to me", "I will sing to her", "I will pass it to him", "I will look at them" and "they will look at us".
In te reo Māori, the pronoun does not change if the person is the subject or the object of a sentence, but the object usually as an a in front of the pronoun. The exception is ahau, which does not have a preceeding a:
Kei te titiro au ki te tane.
I am looking at the man.
Kei te titiro te tane ki a au.
The man is looking at me.
Kei te titiro te tane ki ahau.
The man is looking at me.
Ki a au nei,.
In my opinion.Kāore āku kī i ngaro i ahau. I ngaro ēnā i a koe.
I didn't lose my keys. You lost them.Ākuanei kōrua i a au! Whakamutua tēnā mahi.
You had better stop that right now or you'll be in big trouble.Ka āhua pai ahau.
I will be somewhat good.Nā Ponga tēnā, ēhara i a au.
Ponga is the cause, not me.Kei mua koe i a au.
You are in front of me.Aī! I wareware i a au.
Woops! I forgot.He kaimahi ahau ki ANZ ki Pōneke.
I am a worker at ANZ, in (or at) Wellington.Ka whakamahana au i te kai.
I will warm the food.I pai ahau.
I was good.Ākene koe i a au!
Watch it or else!Ko koe hei muri, hei whakataki i a au.
You will be behind, to safeguard me.Ka riro i a au tētahi kutarere hei taonga kirihimete.
I got a scooter for chirstmas.Ko Ponga i kōhuru i a au.
Ponga treated me maliciously.E mataku ana ia ki a au?
Is she afraid of me?Ākuanei koutou i a au! Taki puta!
You kids had better cut that out right now. Outside – the lot of you!Kāo, kāore te rimurimu i te kai pai ki a au.
No, seaweed is not the food that I like.E rua tekau ngā tau i mahi ai ahau i tēnei pukapuka.
I have been working on this book for twenty years.Kāore i a au te waka.
I don't have the car.