Māori Grammar

There are several ways to ask who will do something in te reo Māori.

Ko wai e horoi i ngā rīhi?
Who will wash the dishes?

This simply asks the name of the person who will do the task. In a flat, someone might ask whose turn it is to do the dishes that night.

Nā wai i horoi ngā pereti?
Who was the one who washed the plates?

Mā wai e horoi ngā pereti?
Who will be the one who will wash the plates?

These are the agent emphatic that ask who is responsible for the action. If the kithen is in a mess, someone might ask: "Who is responsible for tidying up this mess?"

An alternative way uses ki a wai te...?

Ki a wai te horoi i ngā rīhi?
Who is going to wash the dishes?

While the agent emphatic puts emphasis on the person doing the action ("It will be Rangi who will do the dishes"), ki a wai te puts the emphasis on the task itself and asks who that job belongs to. This is more of a question of ownership: who owns this job? To whom does it belong?