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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka atu anō he wahine.
Another woman stood up.

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

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

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

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

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

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 pōwhiri ia i a Pongo.
She beckoned to Pongo.

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

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

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

Ka mātihe a Nikau.
Nikau sneezed.

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

Ka maremare rawa atu ahau.
I had to cough.

Ka pahure te .
They passed the pā.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka kitea au.
I am seen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 haere a Mere.
Mary goes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka umere me te kata.
They shouted and laughed.

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

Ka tangi te pere ākuanei.
The bell has rung.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ka mutu te kōrero.
The discussion finished.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 haere a Te Kooti.
Te Kooti goes.

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

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

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

Ka whakarongo puku a Ponga.
Pongo listened in silence.

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

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

Ka kapo au i te .
I snatched the gun.

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

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

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

Ka mahana haere ngā .
The nights get warmer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!'.

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.