The basic structure of a simple possessed noun phrase is as follows:
possessed noun + possessor + definite article
For example:
| Nau horia poo Johne na.
| I bought John's pig.
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| 1sA buy-3sO pig John DEF
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| 'E horia ru'aru'a Philipu na.
| She bought Philip's basket.
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| 3sA buy-3sO basket Philip DEF
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| Kura horia paso Wa'ikari na.
| We two (you and I) bought Wa'ikari's bracelet.
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| IdA buy-3sO bracelet Wa'ikari DEF
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| Kira horia 'o'o Paulo na.
| They bought Paul's drum.
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| 3pA buy-3sO drum Paul DEF
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The same basic pattern holds when the possessor is a pronoun.
| 'E horia 'o'o 'ina'u na.
| He bought my drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'i'oe na.
| He bought your drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'ineia na.
| He bought her drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'ikura na.
| He bought our two's (I) drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'i'erua na.
| He bought our two's (E) drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'i'arua na.
| He bought your two's drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'ikirarua na.
| He bought them two's drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'ikoru na.
| He bought our (I) drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'i'eeru na.
| He bought our (E) drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o 'i'auru na.
| He bought your folks' drum.
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| 'E horia 'o'o ikira na.
| He bought their drum.
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These possessive pronouns are nearly identical to the set of focused pronouns, with the following exceptions:
- The first person singular possessive pronoun is 'ina'u, which is different from the corresponding focused pronoun 'inau
- The possessive pronoun 'i'auru "your folks'" varies with 'i'amu, which is not true of the corresponding focused pronoun.
If there is an adjective, it will come after the possessed noun, but before the possessor:
possessed noun + adjective + possessor + definite article
For example:
| 'E horia 'o'o paina 'inau na.
| He bought my big drum.
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| 3sA buy-3sO drum big my DEF
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| 'E horia 'o'o maimai 'i'oe na.
| He bought your little drum.
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| 3sA buy-3sO drum little your DEF
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| 'E horia 'o'o rarahu'a 'ineia na.
| He bought her old drum.
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| 3sA buy-3sO drum old her DEF
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