Māori Grammar

▶

The children are running from the house to the school

i to Indicate direction from

The particle i has many uses, one of which is to indicate direction away from something.

I oma ahau i te whare.
I ran from the house.

However, i has a range of alternative meanings. The same sentence could also mean that I ran in the house or past the house or by the house. The exact meaning is determined by context. For example if the mother is angry because the children are running i te whare it probably means that they were running in the house (though not necessarily so). If the police chase a thief running i te toa it probably means he was running from the shop.

In order to be more precise, a speaker could add to the sentence:

Kei te oma ahau i roto i te whare.
I am running inside the house.

Kei te oma ahau i mua i te whare.
I am running in front of the house.

Kei te oma ahau i te taha o te whare.
I am running by the side of the house.

In a sentence where someone is going from somewhere to somewhere, the clause with i comes before the clause with ki:

Kei te oma ahau i te whare ki te kura.
I am running from the house to the school.

It would be incorrect to say ki te kura i te whare.

Kawea atu ahau ki tō tumuaki!
Take me to your leader!

Tīkina he wai i te awa!
Get some water from the river!

I te oma atu te hōiho i a Amaru.
The horse was running away from Amaru.

I oma mai te kurī i raro i te tūru.
The dog ran out from under the chair.

Kei te whakatika te ope i Heihei.
The party is setting out from Heihei.

Haere atu i roto i tēnei whare.
Go away from this house.

Kore rawa au i mōhio i tīmata mai te pepa i te rākau.
I didn't know that paper came from trees.

Ka haria ki tētahi tohunga te pounamu e tāhaetia i te whare nui.
The greenstone which was stolen from the meeting house was taken to a tohunga.

Kua hoki mai koe i hea?
From where have you returned?

I tāhaetia te patu pounamu i te whare taonga.
The greenstone patu was stolen from the museum.

Kua tīkina ngā tamariki i te kura, ka rite te whānau ki te haere ki tātahi, hararei ai.
The kids have been fetched from school, the family is ready to go to the beach for a holiday.

Kua hoki mai ngā kōtiro i te toa.
The girls have returned from the shop.

Kei te heke iho a Ataahua i te rākau.
Ataahua is descending down from the tree.

Ko tēnei kupu, ko te "mārena" mea tango mai i te reo Pākehā.
This word, "mārena", was borrowed from English.

Kua wehe rātou i te rōpū matua.
They have separated from the parent organisation.

I haere mai ia i tērā taha o Te Kao.
She came from beyond Te Kao.

Kāore tōku kāinga e tawhitei i te pāka.
My house is not far from the park.

Kua hoki mai taku hoa i Amerika.
My friend has returned from America.

Kua haere mai a Honi i Ahuriri.
Honi has come from Napier.

Tangohia i te tēpu!
Take if off the table!

Kua hoki mai ia i te pahi.
She has come back from the bus.

Rere atu i reira!
Get out of here!

I haere mai ia i waho tonu o Taupō.
He came here from just outside Taupō.

Kua hoki mai ia i te moana.
She has returned from the sea.

Kei te kohi au i ētehi pukapuka mai i te whare pukapuka.
I'm getting some books from the library.

He mea e hiahia ana koe i te tāone?
Do you want something from the town?