Māori Grammar

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Te Reo Māori Level 1
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.

Ka mātihe a Manu.
Manu sneezed.

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

Ka roherohea taua moana e rātou.
That sea was divided up by them.

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

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

Ka mai te tumuaki ki te mihi ki a rātou.
The headmaster stood up to greet them.

Ka haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka puta te iwi i te .
The tribe emerged from the pā.

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

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

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

Ka haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

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

Ka atu anō he wahine.
Another woman stood up.

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

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

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.

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

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

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

Ka tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

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

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

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

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

Ka noho ia i tētahi rākau e noho he tāngata i raro.
[He] came to rest in a tree under which some people sat.

Ka tae te ope ki ā rātou mea i mahia mai i Āwhitu.
The group took their things which had been made in Āwhitu.

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

Ka hoki te kōrero ki a Hotu i ruku i te punga o rāua waka.
The story returns to Hotu who had dived for the anchor of their canoe.

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

Ka kitea kua puta i tētahi taha o te , kua haere whakatētahi taha o te .
They were seen emerging from one side of the pā, going towards the other side.

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

Ka pahemo te awa o Tōrere.
He passed Tōrere's stream.

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

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

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

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

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

Ka mahana haere ngā .
The nights get warmer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka heke iho ko ngā roimata.
The tears fall down (representing the rain).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka pahure te .
They passed the pā.

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

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

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

Ka whakatika te ope tamariki nei, ka tātou i a rātou te haere.
The group of young people got ready and girded themselves for the journey.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka rite i te tokomaha te whakataāe te hei hokinga rātou.
The many young people reached agreement on the day for their return.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka kitea au.
I am seen.

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

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

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

Ka kite a i te mamaha e puta ake ana i mua o te tereina.
Tū saw the steam rising from the front of the train.

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

Ka kapo au i te .
I snatched the gun.

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

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

Ka puta katoa ki waho ngā tāngata o te ki te tahu kai.
All the people of the pā came outside to cook food.

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

Ka mīharo rātou, me te tino whakamihi.
They were all full of admiration, and very grateful.

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

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

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

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