Māori Grammar

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.

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The children played and then they learned

ka as a past tense marker

Ka haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka pahure te pā rā.
They passed the pā.

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

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

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

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 kitea au.
I am seen.

Ka mahana haere ngā pō.
The nights get warmer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

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

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

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

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

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

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

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

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

Ka mātihe a Aroha.
Aroha sneezed.

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

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

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

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

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

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.