He kawhe māu? means: Do you want a coffee?
Māu is an example of an M-class possessive in the a category, using the singular second person suffix ‘-u’ (mentioned in the post about ‘koe’). That’s quite a lot of words to say it’s the word you use to say that the thing you’re talking about will/might belong to the person you’re talking to in the future.
The possessive prepositions nā/nō relate to past or present possession, while mā/mō relate to future possession in the a/o categories respectively. By appending the singular pronoun forms mentioned in the post about ‘koe’ you end up with:
- 1st person: nāku, nōku, māku, mōku
- 2nd person: nāu, nōu, māu, mōu
- 3rd person: nāna, nōna, māna, mōna
For dual and plural pronouns you just add the pronoun to the preposition as in “mā mātou”.
Some examples of using these words include:
- He hoa nōku - a friend of mine (nōku suggests they are currently my friend or were in the past and is used because friends are in the o-category)
- Mōu te wai nā - That water near you is for you (mōu suggests ‘for you’ because it relates to future possession and is used because fresh water is in the o-category)
- Hōmai parāoa māku - Give me some bread (literally “Give [me] some bread for me” - māku is used because the bread is not already possessed by me, so it relates to future possession and bread is in the a-category)
- Nōna te hē - The fault is his (nōna because the fault is currently his and mistakes that one makes are in the o-category)