Māori Grammar

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The children played and then they learned

ka as a past tense marker

Typically, the tense marker ka is used to indicate that something will happen in the future. However, when telling a story, ka is often used to indicate that something happened next. Usually this will be in a situation where we have already established that the events are in the past. In the following example, the word inanahi sets the event in the past, and therefore ka is translated as a past event:

Inanahi, ka haere au ki Te Tai Rāwhiti.
Yesterday, I went to town.

Ka haere mātou ki te tāone i nga Tāite.
We go to town on Thursdays.

Ka kite a Tū i te mamaha e puta ake ana i mua o te tereina.
Tū saw the steam rising from the front of the train.

Ka nui taku aroha ki a koe.
My love for you knows no bounds.

Ka mīharo rātou, me te tino whakamihi.
They were all full of admiration, and very grateful.

Ka tae mai te taraka o Aria me ngā tēpu, me ngā tūru.
Aria's truck arrived with the tables and the chairs.

Ka hoki atu ngā tamariki ki te kura āpōpō.
The children are returning to school tomorrow.

Ka kite mai a Rangi-uru-hinga, he taniwha tēnei kei Moana-ariki e noho ana, i te kino o te mahi a Kupe ki a Hotu.
Rangi-uru-hinga, who was a taniwha living in Moana-ariki, saw the wickedness of Kupu's treatment of Hotu.

Ka tū mai tētahi wahine anō me te mere pounamu i te ringa.
Another woman stood and came forward with a greenstone mere in her hand.

Ka rongo ahau i tētahi waiata pai i tēnei rā.
I heard a nice song today.

Ka whakatika te kōtiro rā, ka mua ki te kīaka.
The girl got up and took a calabash.

Ka kapo au i te pū.
I snatched the gun.

Ka herea e ia tā tāua kurī.
He tied up our dog.

Ka haere i te ara i runga i te rangitoto.
They went along the path over the coria.

Ka patua taua kai rā e ia ki te manga o te kawakawa.
He struck that food with the branch of the kawakawa.

Ka mahana haere ngā pō.
The nights get warmer.

Ka puta taua tini rā ki waho o te pā.
That group went out of the pā.

Ka kite atu ngā tāne o tēnei i ngā wāhine o tērā.
The men of this [tribe] saw the women of that [tribe].

Ka roherohea taua moana e rātou.
That sea was divided up by them.

Ka puta katoa ki waho ngā tāngata o te pā ki te tahu kai.
All the people of the pā came outside to cook food.

Ka mea atu te kotiro rā ki tana whaea...
That girl said to her mother...

Ka pōwhiri ia i a Pongo.
She beckoned to Pongo.

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

Ka kōrero ia ki tētahi atu āpiha.
He talked to another officer.

Ka tae te ope rā ki ā rātou mea i mahia mai rā i Āwhitu.
The group took their things which had been made in Āwhitu.

Ka puta mai te mate moe ki a Te Tahi.
Te Tahi became sleeopy.

Ka waiho he wāhi kia tuwhera ana i waenganui i ngā taiepa kōhatu nei.
A place was left open between the stone walls.

Ka tangi ngā tamāhine ki tō rātou pāpā.
The daughters mourned for their father.

Ka karakia ia i ngā karakia mō ngā taniwha moana.
He chanted the incantations for the taniwha of the sea.

Ka tātua i a rātou mō te haere.
They girded themselves for the journey.

Ka mea atu te rōpā rā, 'He kai.'
The slave said, 'Food!'.

Ka tae ki te teihana, ā, ka hīkoi mātou i te taha moana ki Te Papa.
We arrived at the station and we walked by the sea to Te Papa Tongarewa National Museum.

Ka oma mai ngā tamariki i muri i te whare.
The children ran up from behind the house.

Ka kitea kua puta i tētahi taha o te pā, kua haere whakatētahi taha o te pā.
They were seen emerging from one side of the pā, going towards the other side.

Ka haere ki Zealandia mō te kawhe.
I went to Zealandia for a coffee.

Ka pupihi te hau, ha hingahinga ngā rākau, ka rere ngā tīni o te whare.
The wind blew, the trees blew over and roofing iron blew off.

Ka puta te iwi rā i te pā.
The tribe emerged from the pā.

Ka haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

Ka kite ia i te tīwaiwaka.
He sees the fantail.

Ka rongo tana whaea i tana ui ki te hinu rautangi.
His mother listened to his question about scented oil.

Ka kite a Tame i te kōrua.
Tame saw the crayfish.

Ka kauhoe ia i Rotorua ki Mokoia.
She swam from Rotorua to Mokia.

Ka roa, ka haere atu ia.
After a while, he left.

Ka kite au i a ia, ka aroha atu.
When I saw her I was moved.

Ka mea atu a Kupe ki a Hotu,
Kupe said to Hotu, "We must return".

Ka mōhio taku hoa ki te tangata rā.
My friend knows that man.

Ka kite o reira taitamariki rangatira i taua kōtiro nei, i a Puhihuia,.
The young chiefs from there was this girl, Puhihuia.

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.

Ka hoki te kōrero ki a Hotu i ruku rā i te punga o tō rāua waka.
The story returns to Hotu who had dived for the anchor of their canoe.

Ka kīa e te taitamariki he mea mahi ki te mākutu.
The young people said it was done with black magic.

Ka kite mātou i te Wind Wand, ā, ka hīkoi i te ara moana.
We saw the Wind Wand, and walked on the beach walkway.

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

Ka nui te mīti, te hēki me te tuna.
There's plenty of meat, eggs and eels.

Ka tū ngā tamāhine i te mataihi katau o te marae.
The daughters stood at the front right of the marae.

Ka whakatika atu ētahi ki te pōwhiri i waho o te pā.
Some stood to wave outside the pā.

Ka hoki ake anō te kotiro rā ki te pā.
The girl returned once more to the pā.

Ka tītaha a Matariki ki te uru.
The Pleiades had descended to the west from its highest point.

Ka heke iho ko ngā roimata.
The tears fall down (representing the rain).

Ka nui taku hiahia kia kite i a koe!
I greatly desire to see you.

Ka tuhi ia i ngā kupu.
He wrote the words.

Ka hoki mai nā roto i te nehenehe.
They returned by way of the patch of bush.

Ka mau anō te kōtiro rā i te ipu.
That girl picked up the calabash again.

Ka rongo a Niko i te whakapū ahi.
Niko heard the fire siren.

Ka kuhu mai te hoa o Mere.
Mere's friend comes in.

Ka kīa e te tatamariki he mea mahi ki te mākutu.
The young people said it was done with black magic.

Ka mea atu a Kupe ki a Hotu...
Kupe said to Hotu...

Ka mau ana te ururoa ka kaha whawhai ia kia ora ake anō.
Whenever a shark was caught it put up a terrific fight to survive and personifies the epitome of striving.

Ka hapū anō hoki ia i muri iho i a Kōpako.
She conceived again after Kōpako.

Ka puta a Pihihuia me te wai.
Puhihuia appeared with the water.

Ka tū atu anō he wahine.
Another woman stood up.

Ka pātōtō ia ki te kūaha.
She knocks on the door.

Ka tino kaha rawa tōna tangi ki tōna mamae.
She mourned deeply for her pains.

Ka aha koe i ngā hararei?
What do you do in the holidays?

Ka piki puku atu hoki a Ponga i muri i a ia.
Ponga also climbed up silently behind her.

Ka tū a ia, ka karanga mai i waho i te whare.
He stood and called from outside the house.

Ka rere mai ngā waka i tai ki uta.
The canoes came from the sea to the shore.

Ka karanga atu te rōpū whakaeke ki ngā tangata whenua.
The group ascending onto the marae calls back to the people of the land/marae.

Ka noho ia i tētahi rākau e noho rā he tāngata i raro.
[He] came to rest in a tree under which some people sat.

Ka riro i te hai hāte a Paki.
It was taken by Paki's ace of hearts.

Ka mutu te kai, ka kī ia...
When the meal was over, he said...

Ka whakatika te ope tamariki nei, ka tātou i a rātou mō te haere.
The group of young people got ready and girded themselves for the journey.

Ka tūpeke a ia i reira.
He jumped into the air there.

Ka whakawhanaunga koe ki a ia?
Do you relate to him?

Ka tū mai tētahi o aua wāhine rā.
One of those women stood up.

Ka tū ia, ā, ka kōrero.
He stood and spoke.

Ka mataku ngā kararehe i te whatitiri.
Thunder frightens animals.

Ka whakatika aua wāhine nei, ka whai atu i taua tokotoru.
Those women stood up and followed those three.

Ka noho au ki te moenga inu ai i taku kawhe.
I sat in bed and drank my coffee.

Ka kiriweti ia ki ngā mahi whakapātaritari a tōna tungāne.
She gets annoyed with the teasing antics of her brother.

Ka rongo tētahi tangata i ngā kōrero a taua tangata nei.
A man heard what this man here said.

Ka kitea au.
I am seen.

Ka haere te ope o Ngāti-Kahukoka i mua o ēnei.
The Ngāti-Kahukoka group went in front of them.

Ka oho te tini i roto i te whare manuhiri.
The party at the visitor's house woke up.

Ka mātihe a Taika.
Taika sneezed.

Ka titiro a Amaru ki te parani i runga i te pounamu.
Amaru looked at the brand on the bottle.

Ka tū mai te tumuaki ki te mihi ki a rātou.
The headmaster stood up to greet them.

Ka mau ki te kākahu o waho.
And took hold of her outer garment.

Ka tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

Ka karanga ki tana rōpā ki te wai ki a ia.
He called to his slave to get water for him.

Ka mamae aku turi, ngā wāhi katoa ōku, engari kāore e heke taku taumaha.
They hurt my knees, and every other part of me, yet I don't seem to lose any weight.

Ka tono tonu ia i ngā turituri.
He kept hearing noises.

Ka tae tētahi tauhou ki te kāinga.
A certain stranger came to the village.

Ka takaia, ka kawea, ka whakairia ki runga ki te kauere.
They wrapped him up and took him and suspended him in a puriri tree.

Ka mahana haere te kaimoana i te rā.
The seafood is getting warm in the sun.

Ka pōwhiri ki ana ringaringa.
She beckoned with her hands.

Ka mutu tonu te kōrero ki konei.
The story finishes right here.

Ka hoki te ope rā ki tana pā.
That group returned to its pā.

Ka hokona e ua te koti rā mō te whā rau tāra.
She bought that coat for four hundred dollars.

Ka pahemo te awa o Tōrere.
He passed Tōrere's stream.

Ka pahure te pā rā.
They passed the pā.

Ka māharahara te rōpā rā ki te mate whakamomori o tana ariki.
That slave was anxious that his master might commit suicide.

Ka haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

Ka whāngaia ngā manu e ia.
The birds were fed by her.

Ka patua katoatia.
All [the people] were killed.

Ka hoe mai whaka te tauranga waka i Onehunga.
They rowed through the canoe anchorage at Onehunga.

Ka rite i te tokomaha te whakataāe te rā hei hokinga mō rātou.
The many young people reached agreement on the day for their return.

Ka pīrangi ia ki ngā mea katoa.
He wants all the things.

Ka pangaa atu to pāoro e Niko ki a Pāora.
Niko passes the ball to Pāora.

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

Ka mutu te mahi inanahi, ka haere mātou ki te tāone.
When yesterday's work was finished, we went to town.

Ka waiho tonu tātou hei tinihangatanga mā tō tātou whaea.
We are always left cheated by our mother.

Ka mau ki tana mere pounamu, ke hoatu ki te tamaiti ariki o taua ope nei.
[He] took his greenstone mere and gave it to the young leader of this group.

Ka haere noa atu te iwi whenua ki ō rātou kāinga.
The local tribe went to their home.

Ka mutu ōna tohu, ka noho ki raro.
When his instructions were ended, he sat down.