Māori Grammar

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Te Reo Māori Level 1
Ka used to indicate the past - ka

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 rongo a Ataahua i te whakapū ahi.
Ataahua heard the fire siren.

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

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

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

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

Ka haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

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

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

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

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

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

Ka mahana haere ngā .
The nights get warmer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka kapo au i te .
I snatched the gun.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka mātihe a Pita.
Pita sneezed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka mōhio taku hoa ki te tangata .
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 whakatika te kōtiro , ka mua ki te kīaka.
The girl got up and took a calabash.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka atu anō he wahine.
Another woman stood up.

Ka pahure te .
They passed the pā.

Ka kitea au.
I am seen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.

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

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

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

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

Ka tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

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

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

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

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

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

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

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

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

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

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

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

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

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

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