26. Past tense + singular pronoun te + verb

E lava ke ke fa’u, tohi mo lea faka-Tonga ‘o ngāue’aki ‘a e  fa’unga sētesi, pe kupu’i lea (phrase pe feleisi) pe kupu’i sētesi (clause pe koloasi) ko ‘eni’. Kamata’aki ‘a e  lea faka’ilonga taimi kuo ‘osi ko e na’a  hoko ai e polonauna toko taha ko e te pea hoko mai ai ha veape.  Hangē ko ‘eni: Na’a’ te tangi. Kiliki ‘i he hokonga ope ‘i lalo’ ki he ngaahi fakamatala mo ha  ‘ekisasaisi ke ne toe fakamaama ange ‘a e fakakaukau ‘oku fakamatala’i ko ‘eni’.

Kiliki heni ki he fakiikiiki: Lea faka’ilonga taimi, Veape, ‘Etiveape, Etisekitivi, ‘Ātikolo, Nauna   Peleposisini

The signs of tense in the Tongan language are used to convey the time at which a verb or an action occurs. The sign of past tense na’a indicates the action in the sentence happened in the past. Na’a can be used before the preposed singular pronoun te followed by a verb. For example: Na’a’ te tangi. In English: I cried.  The Tongan pronouns te and ku can be used in the same manner as the English pronoun I.  Click the links below for more exercises on this topic and some important information about the Akoola courses.