Many words in English may a number of different forms in te reo, so it's important to know the distinction and what you're actually talking about. ​OPINION: The personal pronouns and "possessives" of te reo Māori have already been given some coverage in earlier columns. Thus tō mātou Matua is a contraction of te Matua / o mātou ("the Father / of us"), just as tā Hoani tama is a contraction of te tama / a Hoani ("the son / of John"). The form tā Hoani tama is considered rather more formal than te tama a Hoani. Apostrophes are not used in te reo.

Source: Stuff June 14, 2019 17:02 UTC