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

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

Ka pahure te .
They passed the pā.

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

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

Ka atu anō he wahine.
Another woman stood up.

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

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

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

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

Ka mātihe a Tame.
Tame sneezed.

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

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

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

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

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

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

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka kapo au i te .
I snatched the gun.

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

Ka haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

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

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

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

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

Ka kitea au.
I am seen.

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

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

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

Ka haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

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

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

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

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 kite ia i te tīwaiwaka.
He sees the fantail.

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

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 patua katoatia.
All [the people] were killed.

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

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

Ka mahana haere ngā .
The nights get warmer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 pōwhiri ia i a Pongo.
She beckoned to Pongo.

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

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

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

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