Māori Grammar
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Locative sentences beginning with i, kei or hei are negated using kāore... i....
Affirmative:
Kei te whare a Rewi.
KEI + location + subject
Negative:
Kāore a Rewi i te whare.
KĀORE + subject + I + location
Because i (past location), kei (present location) and hei (future location) are all negated with kāore... i... whether the negation is past, present or future is determined by context. This context will usually be supplied by an additional word that identifies the time:
Kāore a Mere i te kura inapō.
Mere was not at the school last night.
Kāore a Mere i te kura āpōpō.
Mere will not be at the school tomorrow.
In the absence of clarification of time, a present-tense reading is the default.
Kāore a Mere i te kura.
Mere is not at the school.
Kāore a Hine i roto i te wharepaku.
Hine isn't in the bathroom.
Kāore te pukapuka i runga i te tūru.
The book isn't on the chair.
Kāore te rorohiko i runga i te tēpu.
The computer isn't on the table.
Personal names take a as subject; pronouns don't:
Kāore a Hēmi i te toa.
Hēmi is not in the shop.
Kāore ia i te rūma.
He/she is not in the room.
Kāore koe i te hokomaha.
You are not at the supermarket.
As with other negations, the order of words in the sentence changes, with the subject moving to near the start of the sentence after kāore and the location moving to the end of the sentence, after i:
Kei te whare a Rewi.
Rewi is at the house.
Kāore a Rewi i te whare.
Rewi is not at the house.
While kāore is the most common form, there are dialectal variations including kāhore and kāre.
Kāore te ngeru i te taha mauī o te tēpu.
The cat wasn’t to the left of the table.Kāore ngā tauira i te whare wānanga.
The students are not at the university.Kāore te motokā i runga i te ara.
The car wasn’t on the road.Kāore tō tātou huihuinga ki reira.
Our meeting will not be there.Kāore te motokā i muri i te whare.
The car wasn’t behind the house.Kāore ngā kapu i te kīhini.
The cups are not in the kitchen.Kāore te ngeru i raro i te tūru.
The cat wasn’t under the chair.Kāore ngā hū i raro i te tēpu.
The shoes weren’t below the table.Kāore mātou i waho.
We are not outside.Kāore i konei tonu.
It wasn’t right here.Kāore te waka i reira.
The car wasn’t there.Kāore te kapu i runga ake i te tēpu.
The cup wasn’t above the table.Kāore rātou i te hui.
They are not at the meeting.Kāore te toa i konei.
The shop wasn’t here.Kāore au i tōku tari.
I wasn’t in my office.Kāore te pōro i te papa purei.
The ball is not on the field.Kāore ngā āporo i te toa.
The apples are not at the shop.Kāore a Hēmi i Ōtautahi
Hēmi is not in Christhurch.Kāore ngā manu i runga ake i te maunga.
The birds weren’t above the mountain.Kāore taua rākau i korā.
That tree is not over there.Kāore ngā pukapuka i roto i te whare.
The books weren’t inside the house.Kāore tōna tuahine i te kāinga.
Her sister is not at home.Kāore ō hū i te rūma horoi kākahu.
Your shoes are not in the laundry.Kāore ngā tamariki i mua i te kuaha.
The children weren’t in front of the door.Kāore te marae i taua wāhi.
The marae wasn’t at that place.Kāore ngā tamariki i te papa tākaro.
The children are not at the playground.Kāore tō māmā i te hōhipera.
Your mother is not at the hospital.Kāore a Rangi i raro i te rākau.
Rangi wasn’t under the tree.Kāore te kurī i te taha katau o te waka.
The dog wasn’t to the right of the car.Kāore ngā āporo i roto i te pouaka.
The apples weren’t in the box.