English to Tahitian: explain the event before choosing its particles
English tense names do not supply the whole answer
Tahitian uses particles around the predicate to express distinctions that English distributes across auxiliaries, endings and the wider sentence. Do not expect every English past tense to produce one fixed Tahitian particle, or every word ending in -ing to receive the same construction regardless of what it means.
The contrast between an activity in progress and an event viewed as accomplished is particularly useful in updates. An English sentence saying that children are playing describes an ongoing activity; a report that a repair is complete presents a result. Keep that difference explicit before translation. An English -ing form naming an activity, such as ‘Swimming is enjoyable’, also performs a different job from a statement that somebody is swimming now.
A ship about to leave has not already departed
The construction Tē reva ra te pahī can describe a ship about to leave. Here ra does not simply turn the sentence into an English past-tense statement. Its interpretation depends on the construction and situation. For a harbour message, confusing imminence with completed departure could send the reader to the wrong place at the wrong time.
State whether boarding remains possible, departure is imminent or the vessel has already left when that information belongs to the English message. Do not delete such distinctions in favour of the single word leave. Likewise, translating a particle back in isolation will not reliably tell you whether the whole Tahitian sentence preserves the intended travel status.
The beginning of the sentence need not be the person
A simple Tahitian clause commonly begins with its predicate. The person or thing described may follow. This organisation differs from the usual English subject-first statement, so output beginning with something other than the person's name is not automatically reversed or incomplete.
Tahitian predicates also extend beyond the English category of a conjugated verb. ‘Ua ao conveys that it is daylight, without requiring a separately expressed dummy subject corresponding to English it. In weather, time-of-day or descriptive messages, do not add a personal pronoun merely to reproduce every visible English word. Review what the clause asserts and who, if anyone, is an actual participant.
Specify the group behind a shared plan
English we conceals distinctions Tahitian can express. Tāua includes the listener in a pair; māua identifies the speaker and one other person without the listener. Tātou and mātou make the same inclusion distinction for larger groups. A message arranging a shared departure therefore needs clear participant information as well as clear timing.
When two guests tell a host about their own journey, that differs from a guest arranging to go somewhere with the host. Explain the intended participants if the English exchange does not establish them. Do not use a pronoun choice as a substitute for naming an unknown traveller. The number and membership of the group are grammatical information; their identities must still come from the message.
Language references
English is listed by the provider as English (language code en). Source text reads left to right. Preserve original spelling, punctuation, and names when entering text.
The selected target is Tahitian (Reo Tahiti; code ty). The result is displayed left to right. If another script or regional variant is needed, select its separate entry in the language directory.