Māori Grammar

There are often two ways we can say the same thing: "I am reading a book" and "the book is being read by me". The first way, known as an "active" sentence, says that someone is doing something. The second, called a "passive" sentence, says that something is being done to something. In this case, the book is being read. There are many sentences that can be said in a passive way: "The milk was drunk by the children", "the fire was lit by the man", "the cake was baked by the Gran". 

Te reo Māori often uses a passive sentence structure. In fact, a general rule of thumb is that if you can say something using a passive sentence then it is preferable to do so. For example, it is better, in te reo, to say: "The work was done by me" rather than "I did the work".

A passive sentence is created by adding a passive ending to a verb. For example, the word for "love" is aroha, but the word for "to be loved" is arohaina. The -ina ending (or "suffix) makes the word passive.

There are quite a few passive endings:

-a, -hanga, - hia, -hina, -ina, -kia, -kina, -mia, -na, -nga, -ngia, -ria, -rina, -tia, -whia, -whina and -ea

There is no apparent rule as to which ending a word might take, and so these have to be learned. For example:

arohaina - to be loved
kainga - to be eaten
kōrerotia - to be spoken

Occasionally, the word itself may change slightly. For example:

titiro - to see
tirohia - to be seen

tuhituhi - to write
tuhia - to be written

We might have expected titirohoa or tuhituhitia, but where a syllable is duplicated in the word (ti-ti-ro, tuhi-tuhi) then the duplication is dropped.

The following are passive endings:

-a
-na
-ngā
-kia
-mia
-ria
-whia
-ina
-whina
-ā
-ia
-tia
-hia
-ngia

Can only be used with kei te, e... ana, ka, i, i te and kua. (Can't be used with me, hei, homai, hoatu)

-tia, -hia and -ngia are interchangeable. 

Passive sentences do not have i or ki before the subject:

Kei te whakatika i te waka.
The car is being fixed.

But:

Kei te whakatikaina te waka.
The car is being fixed.

(No i before te waka.)

I pōwhitritia e mātou.
They were welcomed by us.

I pōwhitritia mātou.
We were welcomed.

The particle e indicates who did the action, and can change the meaning of a sentence:

I patu au.
I hit.

I patua e au.
It was hit by me.

I patua au.
I was hit.