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

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

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

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

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

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka pangaa atu to pāoro e Manu ki a Nikau.
Manu passes the ball to Nikau.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 ki ana ringaringa.
She beckoned with her hands.

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

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

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

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

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

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

Ka mātihe a Mia.
Mia sneezed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

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 pōwhiri ia i a Pongo.
She beckoned to Pongo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka pahure te .
They passed the pā.

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 tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 kitea au.
I am seen.

Ka haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

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

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

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

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

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 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 atu anō he wahine.
Another woman stood up.

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

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

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

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

Ka mahana haere ngā .
The nights get warmer.

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

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

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

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

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

Ka haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

Ka kapo au i te .
I snatched the gun.

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

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

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

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