The Stative VerbLILO
The Verb LILO Can Be Very Confusing!
When the verb Lilo is first introduced it's often in the context of someone becoming something ("The woman became a doctor.") Next, the learner is introduced to the fact that Lilo can also mean "taken by" as in, "The thief was taken by the policeman." These two basic uses of Lilo are often the only ones encountered in one's initial Hawaiian language learning. As you dig deeper however you encounter a number of more subtle meanings as well as a broad scope of grammatical constructions involving Lilo.
In essence, Lilo conveys the idea that something is being transferred, conferred, or changing in its essence. Lilo is conceptual, unlike Lawe (vt. to take, transport, accept) which brings to mind the actual action of transferring something. There is some degree of academic disagreement with the nuances of the verb Lilo and so it's important to realize that, while you will learn some typical usages here, you may encounter other grammatical constructions and subtleties in the use of the word.
To Become Something (In General) - "The woman became a doctor"
LILO <piko/subject> + i + <awe/kikino object> [Note: There is NO Kaʻi preceeding the <awe/kikino object>]
The woman became a doctor - Lilo ka wahine i kauka
Iokepa became a teacher - Lilo ʻo Iokepa i kumu
There are two important things to remember for this form:
1) There is no kaʻi (ke/ka) preceeding the kikino specifying what the subject became
2) The lack of a kaʻi makes the awe a non-specific lauka (a non-specific noun phrase) and consequently the implication is that the subject became an unspecified <kikino>. The woman became a doctor. Some unspecified doctor; just a doctor in general.
To Become Something (Specifically) - "The employee became the boss"
LILO <piko/subject> + <papani> + i + <kaʻi> + <awe/kikino object>
The employee became the boss - Lilo ka limahana ʻo ia i ka luna
Iokepa became the teacher - Lilo ʻo Iokepa ʻo ia i ke kumu
You will become the group leader - Lilo ʻo ia ????????????????????
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