The Tahitian dialect abounding in vowels, and discarding every hard consonant, it is very difficult for the Tahitians to pronounce such consonants as occur not in any of their own words; yet there seems to be a necessity of introducing the above supplementary letters for the sake of proper names and foreign words. Several of them are used in the other dialects.

Some of the Tahitian consonants are often exchanged, as f for h, and h for f, in a considerable number of verbs, when the prefixes faa or haa occur. The h is invariably pronounced with the aspirate, though frequently so softly, as not to be perceived by foreigners, unless peculiar attention be paid to it. Sometimes the r and the n seem to be exchanged, as ramu, namu, but what is most remarkable in the pronunciation of the Tahitian consonants, is, the universal practice of confounding b and p, d and t, and it is a fact, that scarce a Tahitian can be found, who is able to distinguish between them. In spelling or pronouncing the letters singly, they run all the ps into b, and all the ts into d; but in speaking, they immediately turn most of them into p and t, and there is hardly a Tahitian word, in which it can be said, the b and d are universally used. These two letters b and d are universally used. These two letters b and d have, therefore, been rejected from the Tahitian Alphabet. Some few words in the dictionary commencing with b, will be again found under the letter p.

The common sound of the Vowels is that which is exemplified above; but there are many instances where the same sounds in quality, are different in quantity, being much longer in some words, where the vowels ought to be marked with a circumflex, thus; â, ê, î, ô, û. In some few instances the vowel a is pronounced very short, as in tapono, a shoulder, tata, to bale, tatau, to count, parau, speech, &c., which might be marked thus; tàpono, tàtà, tàtau, &c. In some few others, it seems to have the sound of a in the English word liar, as, pape, water, vave, soon, and the future adverb ia.

The Tahitian dipthongs are all of that character which is termed proper; as each vowel has its own distinct sound.

In the formation of Tahitian words, the consonants must be invariably separated by one or more vowels. And when Tahitians write, or pronounce Foreighn words, they always insert vowels between the consonants. Every syllable is invariably terminated with a vowel.

The words in Tahitian, as in English, may be divided into nine different sorts, viz.: the article, the noun, the adjective, the pronoun, the verb, the adverb, the preposition, the conjuction, and the interjection.

If the Article be considered as an "index to the noun, to limit and designate its signification," the following appear to be used in Tahitian as articles: a, te, o, na, mau, tau, pue, hui, te hoe, e tahi, and ma or maa.

1. E and te are commonly (not always,) what a, or an and the are in English, viz., indefinite and definite articles, as in the following examples;

Sometimes the article te is prefixed to proper names; as Te maharo, Te mehameha, &c., apparently to ease the pronuuciation; and at other times it is placed before nouns, where no article would be used in English, as te Atua, which ought to be translated God, and not, the God.

Sometimes it seems to be rather emphatic than definite, as when Captan Wallis visited Tahiti in 1767, some of the old people in relating the circumstance, and the consternation the inhabitants were in on seeing the ship, &c., say "tao aera ratou, e ere outou te taata.' they thought that you were not men but gods, or some superior beings.

2. The o is supposed to have the nature of an article, as it is prefixed as an index to the pronoun when in the nominative case, as o vau, o oe, o oia, o maua, &c., as also to proper names of persons and places; as o Pomare, o Tu, o Tea, &c., o Moorea, o Huahine, o Raiatea, o Tahiti, &c.; some, however, suppose it to be the sign of the numinative case. Not understanding this, strangers have often made it a part of the name itself, as Otahiti; but there is no more propriety in writing Otahiti for the name of the Island, than there would be in writing Oengland and Ofrance, for England and France.

3. The words te hoe and e tahi are used in Tahitian exactly in the same way as the French article of unity, viz.; when un or une is used, they are prefixed to nouns to signify one thing in a vague sense, as the French say, une pomme, an apple, une heure, an hour, so the Tahitians would say, te hoe vi, te hoe hora, any one, but only one in a vague sense.

When the noun will not admit of individuality, as wind, wter, earth, &c. ma or maa is prefixed, as maa pape, some water, maa matai, some wind, &c. and often the article of unity is also used; as, homai e tahi or te hoe maa pape, give me some little water.

4. The words na, mau, tau, pue, and hui, are prefixed to nouns, to denote plurality in such nouns, and to limit and restrict in a manner, well known to the natives, but not easily attained hy a foreigner.

Na is prefixed to nouns to denote, in general, a small plurality, two or three, or a small number, as na metua, parents, both father and mother; na taata, the men, two or three, or a few; but sometimes it may denote a great number, when it is uncertain.

Mau seems to be an unlimited plural, as mau taata, men, any number; mau metua, parents, without limiting the number.

Tau seems to be used to denote a small indefinite plurality in the noun, as "aita rea tau taata rii," but few men, two or three, or a small number; yet it does not seem to be used exactly as synonymous with na. The words pue and hui are also prefixed to certain collective nouns, and mark no definite plurality; as, pue arii, the royal family or principal chiefs, pue raatira, the subordinate chiefs collectively, hui arii, and hui raatira, appear to have nearly the same meaning as pue arii and raatira; but pue taata seems to be an exception, as being more limited; hui hoa, is also used for friends, denoting a number of them without limiting it.

Nouns have two numbers, the singular and plural, or, perhaps more properly, the Tahitian nouns, when not in the singular number, have a plurality limited or unlimited, as determined by the articles mentioned above, viz., na, mau, tau, pue, and hui, which are prefixed to the various nouns, for there is nothing commonly in the noun itself, to signify either number or gender. Sometimes the plurality of the noun is signified by the adjective following it, as puaa maitatai

Na prefixed to a noun denotes a limited plurality, as;

Iä, fish, na iä, two, or a few fishes.
Ofai, stone, na ofai, stones two or more.
Pepe, a butterfly, na pepe, butterflies, two or more
Rao, a fly, na rao, flies, two or more but limited

The unlimited plurals are fomed by prefixing mau to the noun, as;

Atua,		God,		mau Atua,		Gods.
Varua,		Spirit,		mau Varua,		Spirits.
Fatu,		Lord,		mau Fatu,		Lords.
Arii,		King,		mau Arii,		Kings.
Haavâ,		Judge,		mau Haavâ,		Judges.
Fetia,		Star,		mau Fetia,		Stars.
Fenua,		Country,		mau Fenua,		Countries.

The gender is distinguished, either by different words, or by adding tane or vahine ; oni or ufa, to the noun, as follows;

Most of the nouns have no gender, and may be considered as neutral, or common, when not determined by the connexion, or by tane or Vahine, oni or ufa, being added to the noun; as, metua, a parent, male or female; but to determine which, tane or vahine must be added; thus, metua tane, a father, or male parent, metua vahine, a mother or female parent, netua hovai, a parent in law, metua hovai tane, a father in law, metua hovai vahine, a mother in law, hunoa a child in law, hunoa tane, a son in law, hunoa vahine, a daughter in law. Puaa is a common noun, and means anyone of the swine kind, but puaa oni, is a male of the swine, and puaa ufa a female or sow. So manu, a bird is in itself a common noun, and so is ia a fish, raau, a tree or plant, but when a tree or plant is to be distinguished as male or or female, tane or vahine is added, as ninita tane, the male papaw tree; ninita vahine, the female papaw. Moora is any of the duck or goose kind, and so is moa any of the domestic fowl kind, and to distinguish cock and hen, goose and gander, duck and drake, oni or ufa must be used.

If by case be understood the different endings of the noun, the Tahitian nouns have no cases, that is, nothing in the noun itself to distinguish its case. It has been said that English nouns have but one variation of case, viz.: the genitive or possessive, and therefore English cases of nouns are distinguished by the prepositions, to for, with, from, by, &c., and by the same means the Tahitian cases of a noun may be ditinguished, viz., by the little words a, na, o, no, te, i, e, and ia.

The adjective is commonly placed after the noun to express its quality; as, taata maitai, a good man, Atua mana, a powerful God, raau maoro, a long tree, te rai teitei, the lofty sky, te ofai teimaha, the heavy stone, parau paari, wise speech.

In some few instances the Tahitian adjectives correspond in number with the nouns to which they belong, as:

The word mau might be inserted; as, mau taata maitatai, good men.

There is nothing in the adjective itself to denote comparison, or degrees of qualities, this is done by the aid of particles, i, ae, atu, hau, roa, ino, and e, as:

E mea maitai, a good thing.
E mea maitai ae, a better thing in a small degree.
E mea ino, a bad thing.
E mea ino ae, a worse thing, or a little worse.
Teitei, high, teitei ae, a little higher.
Rahi, great, rahi ae, a little greater.
Rahi atu, great beyond the thing compared.
Rahi roa, very great.
Rahi roa atu, greater still, or beyond.
Rahi roa ino, atu, immoderately great.

Sometimes the word hau is used when two things are compared; as, o tei hau ïa i te rahi, that outstretches, or outdoeth in greatness. Hau ato is also used, when it is still greater, as:

E mea maoro, a long thing.
Ua hau teie i te maoro, this is longer.
Ua hau atu hoi teie, this is still longer.
Ua hau e atu teie, this is much longer than any of them.

Another way of comparing is by placing the adjective before the noun that is to be compared with another, and inserting the preposition i or ia between those two; as, e rahi teie i tera, this is great to that, or e iti teie itera, this is little to that. E rahi Tahiti i Moorea, Tahiti is great to Moorea; e rahi atu Beretane, Britain is great beyond Tahiti; e rahi roa'tu America, America is great beyond them all.

Sometimes an accumulation of epithets is used to magnfy the greatness, or signify the littleness of an object; as, E mea ino rahi roa tu, a thing exceedingly bad, E mea iti haihai roa, a thing exceedingly little.

The personal pronouns are used in the Tahitian with peculiar precision, they are of three sorts, singular, dual, and plural.

1. {	O Taua, Thou and I, or we two.
	O Maua, He and I, or I the speaker, and another.
2.	O Orua, Ye two.
3.	O Raua, They, two persons spoken of.

1. {	O Tatou, ye and I, or we and you, and our party.
	O Matou, we, three or more.
2.	O Outou, you or ye, three or more.
3.	O Ratou, they, three or more.

Vera is also a plural indefinite pronoun of the third person. It is commonly used in speaking of persons in their presence, and may be either dual or plural.

The pronouns have no distinction of gender but the cases are distinguished as follows:

N. O Vau, I.
G. Na'u, no'u, mine.
D. Ia'u, to me.
A. Ia'u, Me
Ab.Ia, na, or e au, by me.

As ana and ona appear to be both used as pronouns of the 3d. person singular, so it appears also that the possessives, na'na, no'na, ta'na, to'na, a'na, o'na, and the objective ia'na, are contractions of na ana, no ona, ta ana, to ona, a ana, o ona, ia ana or ia ona.

Sometimes the possessive pronouns of the singular, differ from the above, and may be called neuter or universal possessives, as they regard not the difference of na and no, as,

1st. person, Tau, my, (rather than mine.)
2d. person, To, thy.
3d. person, Tana, (pronounced short) his, hers, its.

1st. person. Na taua, no taua, ta taua, to taua, a taua, o taua, Ours, (two myself and another I am speaking to.
    Na maua, no maua, ta maua, to maua, a maua, o maua, mine and his or hers.
2d. person. Na orua, no orua, ta orua, to orua, a orua, o orua, belonging to you two.
3d. person. Na raua, no raua, ta raua, to raua, a raua, o raua, theirs (two) that I am speaking of.

1st person. Na tatou, no tatou, ta tatou, to tatou, a tatou, o tatou, Ours, I or we, and the party addressed.
    Na matou, no matou, ta matou, to matou, a matou, o matou. Ours, three or more.
2d. person. Na outou, no outou, ta outou, to outou, a outou, Yours, three or more.
3d. person. Na ratou, no ratou, ta ratou, to ratou, a ratou, o ratou, Theirs, three or more.

There are distinctions as to the use of na, ta, and a, and of no, to, and o, the following are examples; Na vai te maa? whose is the food? Na mea, it belongs to such a one. Parau na te Atua, the word of God. Te oĕ na Golia, the sward of Goliath. Tamaiti na te arii, the King's son. Fare no te Atua, the house of God. Fenua no Iseraela, the land of israel. Te Atua no te rai, the god of heaven. Ta'na maa, his food; to'naahu; his cloth; ta'na parau, his word; to'na reo, his voice; aita a'na maa, he has no food; aita o'na ahu, he has no garments, aita o'na manao, he has no thoughts, &c.

The relative pronouse are tei, o tei, na'na, eaha, vai, taua, teihea, and tei reira, answering to sho, which, that and what; as, E ao to'na o tei matau ia Iehova, Blessed is he who feareth the Lord. Te taata na'na te hara ra, the man whose the sin is. Oia te taua mau ra. o tei haapao maitai mai i te ati raa ra, he is a true friend, whois faithful in adversity. Taua mea i parau hia ra, the thing that was spoken of. Taua taata ra, that man. E ere ra to tei reira fenua anae ra, "and not for that nation only." John, xi. 52. Aha or eaha, vai, and teihea are used interrogatively only; as, Eaha taua mea ra? What is that thing? Eaha tena? What is that (by you.) Eaha te Atua? E Varua. What is God? A Spirit. O vai te haere? Who goes? Na vai te taoa? Those propery? or to whom does it belong. Tei ia vai te taoa? With whom is the property? Teihea te huru? What is its likeness? Teihea te maitai, teie anei, e tera anei? Which is the best, this or that? Vai, is commonly applied to persons, and eaha to things, as who and which are uned in English. Vai is thus declined;

The demonstrative pronouns are, teie, teie nei, eie, eie nei, referring to a thing, or things at hand, and tera, era, tena, ena, to things at a distance. Teie, seems to answer exactly to the French ceci, this, and teie nei, to celui ci and celle ci, this here close at hand; but sometimes the t is dropped, and eie or eie nei used; as, teie taata, this man, teie nei vahine, this woman here, I naha eie pue o' epiti, "behold here are (or these) two swords." Luke xxii, 38. Epiti eie, these two, or two these, (literally) i eie nei pue mahana, these days (ces jours ci.) Luke xxiv, 18.

Teie nei mau mea, these things here. Tera, that at a distance, as celui la and cella la, that there; tera mau mea, those things at a distance, ceux la and celles la. Tera taata, that man at a distance.

Tena is also that at a distance, but it differs from tera in being addressed to the person or persons at the place where the thing pointed at is, or is supposed to be, the na is sometimes added; as tena na mau mea, those things at the place or near the place of the person addressed. Outou na, you there, that I am speaking to.

Taua, its contractive aua, and ïa are also often used as demonstrative pronouns, when taua or aua are used, they ought to be followed by ra, nei, or na, in some part of the same sentence; as, taua peropheta ra, that prophet expected, or spoken of. Taua mea nei, that thing here mentioned or understood. Taua taata i parau hia ra, that man spoken of. Taua taata na, that man before mentioned. Ia, is used often as a demonstrative, as Oia ïa, that is ie, or it is that, O vau ïa I am that, or I am he or it. The ïa by a peculîar idiom of the Tahitians is often used as a demonstrative, where no such word would be used in English; as, "E peropheta ï oia," he is a prophet. John ix. 17. "Na'u ïa ratou i tiai i to ioa na." I kept them in thy name. John xvii, 12.

There are other words sometimes used as indefinite pronouns, viz. e tahi, ve tahi, fanu, too fanu, te hoe pae, e tahi pae, &c., as Te paraparau ra etahi pae, te haapii raa ve tahi, te parahi noa ra te hoe pae, te papai raa te rahi; some are conversing, others are learning, some are sitting idle, but most are writing. E fanu iă, some fish. E toofanu mau Pharisea, some of the Pharisees.

The Tahitian personal and possessive pronouns are often made emplatic by affixing of adding to them the particle iho, answering to the English self. It implies not only emphasis but opposition also, as na'na iho i parau, he spoke of it himself. Na'na iho i hamani, he made it himself, without the assistance of another. This particle always identifies the person, time, place, or thing, spoken of.

O tatou iho, ourselves, I or we speaking and another, and so of matou iho, outou iho, ratou iho.

The Verbs in Tahitian are of three sorts, active, passive, and neuter. A verb active is such as hinaaro, to love, amu, to eat; as, te hinaaro nei au i te parau maitai, I love the good word. Te amt nei au i te maa, I eat the food.

A Verb passive is commonly known by the particle his being added to it, as hinaaro hia, loved, e mea hiaaaro hia e au te parau maitai, the good word is loved by me. The verb neuter is such as noho, to sit, tia to stand, it declares the being, state, or condition, of the person or thing mentioned; as, pohe, to be sick or dead, te ara ra oia, he is awake; te taot ra, he is asleep.

But besides being distinguished as active, passive, and neuter, most Tahitian verbs have a causative active, and a causative passive form, resembling the Hebrew conjugation termed Hiphil, and its passive Huphal. All the regular active verbs may therefore be conjugated four different ways, as, for example; ite, to know; faaite, to cause knowledge, or make known; ite hia, known; faaite hia to cause to be known.

The causative form of the verb is denoted by prefixing faa, haa or ta, to the verb; the passive by adding to particle hia, or in some instances the a; the causative passive by prefixing faa, haa, or ta, and affixing the hia; as, faa ora hia, faa amu hia, haa mau hia, &c.

The neuter verbs, and most, if not all the nouns, may be turned into causative active verbs by prefixing the faa, haa, or ta, and into the causative passive by adding the hia; as, mate, to be dead, haamate, to cause death, haa mate hia, to be caused to be killed or slain, or to be caused to be in a state of mate, or death. E vaa, a canoe, haa vaa, to get a canoe, (or literally to cause a canoe,) haa vaa hia, to canse a canoe to be obtained.

The Verbs have three persons, the singular, vau, oe, oia, ana or ona; the dual, taua, maua, orua, raua; and the plural, tatou, matou, outou, and ratou, beside the indefinite vera, and the substitutive mea.

The verbs have the following modes or moods; the Indicative, the parau nei, speaks here; the Imperative, a parau, speak, or do speak; and the Subjunctive, ahiti parau, e parau atu vau, had I any thing to speak, I would speak. There are four tenses or time, in which the verb speaks; viz., the present; as, te papai nei au, I write, or am now writing; the imperfect, te papai ra vau, I was (then) writing, the perfect, i papai na vau, I wrote or have written, the future, e papai au, I shall or will write. These four tenses have commonly these marks, the present is denoted by prefixing te to the verb, and inserting nei between it and the pronoun; the imperfect by prefixing the te and inserting the ra instead of the nei; the perfect by prefixing an i to the verb, and adding the na; the future by prefixing the e.

Should it be thought more convenient or regular to reduce the conjugations to two, then the first would be the verb active; as, hinaaro to love, and its passive hinaarohia, loved; and its second conjugation would be, faa hinaaro, to cause to love, and its passive, faa hinaaro hia, caused to be loved. But inconveniences would attend this method in respect of neuter verbs, &c.; as, manao, haamanao, manao hia, &c.

The nei and the ra are marks of locality as well as of time, as for example; te papai nei oia, he writes here at this place, and te papai ra oia, he writes or is writing there, at that place, but the tense is the present.

The present tense of the subjunctive is usually the same as the indicative, the condition being implied and understood from the connection, as follows.

Sometimes the conditional conjuction Ahiri, if, is prefixed to the verb, and the tense appears to be the present imperfect, as:

The passive verb is often used imperatively, as haapii hia when the subject or person is not mentioned but understood, it is generally, however, so used when the adverbs of prohibition eiaha, or auaa, precede; as, eiaha e haapii hia, let (him, her or it, understood) not be taught, auaa e parau hia tu, let (the person understood) not be addressed or spoken to.

The imperative of passive verbs is very often expressed by way of wishing or intreating, and is much used in prayers or supplicatory addresses; as,

The condition of this tense is commonly understood by the connection, or tone of voice, so as not to be mistaken.

This tense is also often used like the present and perfect, without expressing the condition; as,

E haapii hia vau, oe, oia, taua, maua, &c., tatou, &c.

Sometimes in the imperative the pronoun is omitted, but understood from the circumstances; as, A taoto na, sleep. the na being often added to the verb.

Or it may be thus expressed, ahiri, vau, oe, oia, taua, &c., e taoto, or ahiri e taoto vau, oe &c., or else without the condition expressed thus, E taoto vu ra, if, or should I sleep, and so of the other pronouns.

The Infinitive of the foregoing verbs, is merely the verb itself, as, haapii, haapii hia, and taoto, or thus by prefixing an e, E haapii, to teach, E haapiihia to be taught, and E taoto, or e moe, to sleep.

As to what is termed a Participle, there is in Tahitian nothing, apparently, that is sufficient to denominate it a different part of speech or even a different modification of the verb, except it be in the words taiha, and otoha, crying or saluting; but they appear to be nouns, and so

An example of a regular Tahitian Verb in all its conjugations, moods and tenses.

Or it may be expressed thus, Ia mau au, Ia mau oe, Ia mau oia, taua, maua, &c., commonly adding the ra.

The above is the conjugation of a regular verb in its various modes, times, and significations; but there are in Tahitian, as in other languages, anomalous verbs of various kinds. Some are irregular in their form, others in their significations, or applications, as they are now used by the natives, such as ani to ask, faa ani, to give away.

Some are often used as auxiliaries to other verbs, and sometimes as principal verbs themselves, as pau, which commonly accompanies another principal passive verb; as, Ua pau i te amu hia, it is eaten or consumed by eating, sometimes it is used alone, signifying consumed, vanquished, or conquered.

Ua, is a particle of very frequent use, and may be considered as an affirmation or auxiliary verb of being, but not a distinctive mark of tense. It is prefixed to verbs to signify, that the action expressed by the verb has taken place, or is now existing, or shall exist or take place in connection with some act or circumstance, mentioned or impled, as for instance, "A vavahi na teienei nao, e ua rui toru anae ua tia faahou ïa ia'u. John ii. 19.

It is moreover used as a prefix to all kinds of adjectives affirming the present existence of the quality mentioned, and strongly implying its former absence, or the want of; as,

Most nouns may be turned into different kinds of verbs in the following manner;

Some words are used as nouns and verbs neuter without any alteration but in the 2d. and 4th conj., thus:

But besides the above mentioned distinctions of the verbs, there are others of reduplication, not yet taken notice of, and those of reduplication, not yet taken notice of, and those of various forms.

Some appear to have a duality of nunber, although not always perhaps definite, such as popohe, hohore, rereva, apipiti, &c. Others, signifying a repetition of the action have the whole verb doubled, as hiohio, revareva, &c.

But the greatest number in repeating the verb, drop a wyllable or a letter, some in the first, as hahaere, paraparau, horohoroi, hohoe, &c., others in the last part of the compound; as, opanipani, patiatia, amuimui, manaonao, faarooroo, apoopoo, faaiteite, faatiatia, tipaopao, aroharoha, vaiihoiho, &c., others differ from all these in their form or application, as, pararahi parahirahi, pararau, &c.

The following is a list of them:

The greatest number, however, of the reduplicates, have no mark of number, but denote a repetition of the action, as in the following examples:

There are in Tahitian, as in other languges, a great variety of adverbs, the principal of which are adverbs of time, place, order, quantity, quality, affirmation, negation, interrogation, comparison, doubting, indication, restriction, and prohibition.

Time present. Teie and teinei, now or this present instant, nei here, or this present instant.

Time past: Nauanei, to day (pat); nanahi, yesterday, ia, when, i nafea, when connected with an interrogation, time past; aenei, signifying the action past, or gone by; ra and aera have a similar meaning; hou, late or lately, as, hou aenei, or hou iho nei, lately, past, but not long ago; mutaa aenei, mutaa iho, and mutaa hio ra formerly.

Time to come: Aunei, or auanei, to day, (to come) and sometimes it signifies that an action will shortly take place; aria, presently; ariana by and by or shortly; ia roovauae, in a little while or shortly; ia roaroa iti ae, in a little time or presently; ia, when, future; ananahi, or apopo, to-morrow.

Time indefinite: Pinepine, often; roauiho, applied to an action often repeated; mahia, as, eita mahia, soon or quickly, vave, soon; vavevave, very soon, or speedily; reira, then.

Nei, here; ae, a little aside, or a small distance higher or lower, or farther off, iho, also determines the place of the action, similar to ae; aera and ra, signify distance aside; na, denotes the place where the person addressed is, and is opposed to nei; as, i o na, yonder with you; and i o nei, here with me; atu, and atura, denote the action to be passing from the speaker or agent, or the place understood; mai, maira and mai nei, the reverse, the aspect of the action being towards the person or place understood; reira, there, reiraiho, there at that very place.

The following are also used as adverbs, inia, above; iraro, below; i roto, within; i rapae, or i vaho, out, without; as, haere I nia, go above; haere i raro go below, &c.

Matamua or matamehai, first in order or foremost; muri iho or muri ae, that which comes close behind or afterwards; na, as oe na, thou first in order; mata na i te papai teienei, write this first. teihea te papai na? Which shall be written first? Teie na, this first.

Atira, enough, or (there is) a sufficiency; ariirea, a little or small quantity; rahi, much; e rahi, too much; iti, little; e iti, too little; noinoi, little or small; haihai, very little; as, e mea iti haihai roa, a very little thing; e raverahi, many; aita rea, few.

Tia, right or straight; hape, wrong; ino, ill; maitai, well; teoteo, proud, or proudly; nehenehe, orderly or in good condition; purotu, comely; these, and many other adjectives seem to be used adverbially.

E, yea, or yes; oia, yes, ïa, truly so, or truly it is it, or tht; oia mau truly so; parau mau, or taru mau, truth, or the very truth.

Aore, aima, aina, aipa, aita, nay, nor not; aita roa, not at all, or by no means; (time past,) e ore, eita, eima, eina, the same negatives, with respect to what is future. The time of these adverbs is most exactly observed by the Tahitians.

Eaha or aha? What? and sometimes why; as, Eaha i ore ai? Why not? No te aha? for what reason or cause? E hia? how many? applied to things. Toohia? how many? applied to persons. Nahea? how? or which way? Eihea? Where? or at what place? a thing or a person is to be. Teihea? Where? when the inquiry is about the place where a person or thing is supposed to be. Ahea or afea? When (future); na- hea and nafea when? time past, but the iis often prefixed, as, i nafea, when? i nanahi, yesterday.

Mai, like unto, mai ia'na te huru, like unto him; te huru a te huru, of one likeness. Mai ia'na te rahi, of one size of bigness with him; mai te reira, as that is; Mai ore mai ora, likely to be lost, or scarcely saved, but this is a pecular Tahitian phrase that can hardly be Englished. Mai ore mai noaa te boti ia matou. Acts. xxvii. 16.

Paha, perhaps; peneiae, probably, or it may be; tia or tia ae. peradventure, or it may be.

Ahio na! lo! hehold or take notice; na (without an aspirate) see here; i naha! behold with attention.

Anae, only; as, oia anae, he only; otahi or hoe, only, as tamaiti otahi, only son, or tamaiti hoe ra.

Eiaha, not, do not, imperatively, as Eiaha e eia, do not steal. Eiaha e taparahi i te taata, do not commit murder. Auaa is used in the same way, as auaa haere, do no go.

The above are the principal adverbs in common use, but there are many more belonging to some of the above classes, and others, that may not strictly come under any of them.

A great number of words appear to be used sometimes as adverbs, and sometimes as prepositions, the principal prepositions are the following;

Na, by na te Atua i hamani i te taata, man was made by God.

Also the signs of the cases of nouns, and the genitive and accusative of pronouns, are signified, for the most part, by the preposition, i, ia, na, no, ta, to, and a, and o, as mentioned before. Ti, or tei, answers to in, but is commonly prefixed to roto, or rapae; as, tei roto, tei rapae; sometimes otherwise; as, tei te pahi, in the ship; tei te fare in the house.

The usual words in Tahitian to join sentences, or different parts of a sentence together, are the following; e, e, or toa, hoi, area, oi, ra, a and ma.

E is a copulative conjunction, answering to and; as, te rui e te ao, day and night; tane e te vahine, husband and wife. Toa, atoa, and hoi, answer to also, and likewise, as, haere atoa matou, we also go, haere atoa outou, go ye likewise. Na te Atua i hamani te rai, e to te rai atoa ra, nana hoi i hamani te fenua e te moana, God made the sky and the things also therein contained, the land also, and the deep. I, also, often serves as a copulative conjuction where no English word can be found to answer it.

Ma, seems like wise to be a true Polynesian copulative, although lost in the Tahitian dialect, except in counting; as, ahuru ma toru, ten and three; e piti ahuru ma pae, twenty and five.

The disjunctives are; area, e and râ, as in the following examples; eiaha tei reira, area teie, not that but this; or thus, eiaha ïa, teie râ not that, but this; teie anei, e tera? this or that? The following are conjunctions of various kinds; ia, if; ahiri, if; oi, lest, or that it may not; a has the same meaning, e ara a poho, take care lest (you) die; also o te, as, o te pohe hoe, lest (he) should die. I te mea, no te mea, noa, noa 'tu, noa iho, these are conditional or inferential conjunctions answering to therefore, because, although, &c. "rave noa a oia i te semeio i raverahi i mua i to ratou aro, aore a ratou i faaroo in'na. John xii. 37.

There are various kinds of interjections, expressive of the feelings or sudden emotions of the mind; as,

Aue! of surprise, wonder, or astonishment. Aue! alas! of pain, grief or sorrow. A! of sudden indignation or disappointment. A! (pronounced differently) on a sudden discovery of something unlooked for. Aha! of sudden displeasure or vexation. Ahe! of surprise or affectionate concern about something that canot be helped, as the death of a person. Aue te piri e! of wonder and surprise. Aue te poupou e! of admiration or wonder. Haio of disgust and contempt. Hee! of displeasure and vexation. Uhu! of disappointment in something that occurred. Aitoa! expressive of satisfaction as to some event that has taken place, as well fitting some previous cause or circumstance, or the state of the speaker's mind. Manava! of greeting or welcome to visitors. Io nei oe! of parting, as adieu, literally, thou be here. Aita, and aore, although generally adverbs of negation, yet are often used as interjections of wonder or surprise, aita te mahana! how ot it is! aita te toteoe! how cold it is! aita te rave ata e! how difficult to manage!

The rules of syntax are usually comprised under those of concord or agreement of words, and those of government or dependence of words; many of the English rules of concord and government will not apply to the Tahitian dialeet, but the following observtions may be of some use.

There is nothing inherent in the verb, (a few of the reduplicates only excepted) to signify persons numbers nor gender, and consquently the rules about their concord or agreement with the verb have no place in Tahitian.

The nominative case commonly follows the verb, and may be easily known by putting the questions O vai? and eaha? who? why? which? what? as, Te tere ra te râ, the sun proceeds on its course. Eaha te tere? What proceeds? Te râ, the sun. Te maue ra to manu, the bird flies. Eaha te maue? What is it that flies? Te nanu, the bird. Haere atura Iesu i Ierusalema, Jesus went to Jerusalem. O vai te haere i Ierusalema? who went to Jerusalem? the answer must be Jesus which is the nominative. But there are instances of the nominative being placed before the verb; as, O vau te haere I go, or it is I that go. In this construction the te must be inserted between the pronoun and the verb; it also implies an opposition; as, It is I who go, not another. Also when a negative is used; as, Eita vau e tae, I will not go; or when an offer is made; as, O vau nei te haere, I will go.

When two nouns, signifying the same thing, are in apposition, ra must invariably be placed between them; as,

The omission of the ra would place the word "arii" in the genitive, and the sense would be the chief of the queen Pomare.

When two or more mouns or promouns follow the same verb, the first only has the sign of the accusative case,

E parau atu ia Ioani, ratou, o Petero, E Paulo, ma.

The Substantives in general, have no gender, or note of plurality in themselves, yet some of the adjetives have, and ought to agree with the substantives when they are preceded by the plural articles; as, te mau raau rarahi ra, the great trees, mau puaa iino, bad hogs, mau taata maitatai, good men; tautamarii tamaroa iino, some bad boys.

It is also a general rule that the adjective ought to follow the substantive; as E Atua mana, mighty God, and not precede it as in English. Substantives are also often implied, but not expressed; as, maua ïa, or te maua, ignorant, or the ignorant or unskilful, but the word taata or man is understood.

The relatives are not affected by number or gender, they are often nominatives to the following verbs; as, te Atua o tei faa ora ia'u, the God who preserves me. Taua, which agrees with any sort of antecedent, ought always to be followed by either ra, nei or na, in some part of the sentence; as, taua taata ra, that man, before spoken of, taua peu nei, this custom mentioned or understood; see more on this subject under the relative pronouns.

One word governs another, when it causes it to be in some case or mood.

One substantive governs another; as, To te Atua ra aroha, God's pity or copassion; Ta te arii ra parau, the king's speech. Interrogative phrases or sentences, ought to be answered accordig to the interrogation; as, Na vai tera ra mea? Na'u, whose is that thing? Mine. Te aha nei oe? Te ohipa nei au; What doest thou here? I am at work here.

A verb active governs words in the dative or accusative cases; as, te parau maira ia'u, speaks to me, te haapii mai nei ia'u, teaches me, te faaite atura ia'na, makes known to him.

Ioane, xiv., 15. Ua hinaaro outou ia'u ra, e haapao i ta'u parau.

Ioane, x. 14. O vau te tiai mamoe maitai ra, ua ite au i ta'u iho, e ua ite hia vau e ratou.

Ioane, i. 29. Ahio na i te Arenio a te Atua, o te hopoi ê atu i te hara o te ao.