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In te reo Māori, ki can mean "to" and i can mean "from". However, these two small words are also used often to undicate the object of a sentence. This is the thing that a person does something to or a person that has something done to them. For example, in the sentence "I am reading a book", the subject of the sentence is "I" - I am the one doig the action. The verb is "reading". But the object of the sentence is "a book". This is the thing being read.
In English we do not say "I am reading to to the book" - this would make no sense - but this is what we need to say in te reo. The object of a sentence (the book being read, or the song being sung, or the tree being planted, or the baby being fed) must always have an i or a ki. Very often, people miss this out because there is no English equivalent for this.
For example we do not say: "kei te pānui au te pukapuka" but:
Kei te pānui au i te pukapuka.
I am reading the book.
The i is a "particle" (a small word) that indicates the thing that is being read, and without it the sentence makes no sense.
Similarly, we do not say: "kei te waiata ia te waiata" but:
Kei te waiata ia i te waiata.
She is singing the song.
Again, the i is an essential part of the sentence and must be included to indicate the thing being sung - the song, which is the object of the sentence.
Ka hopu a Poti i te manu.
Pussy catches the bird.E kore au e ngaki i te māra.
I won't weed the garden.Ka āwhina aua manu i te tīwaiwaka.
Those birds help the fantail.Ka hoatu ahau i te pukapuka ki a koe.
I will give you the book.Inapō au i whakaoti ai i taku mahi.
Yesterday I finished my work.I tākaro netipōro mātou i te ata o te Rāhoroi.
We played netball on Saturday morning.Kua whakarite tāku tāne i te parakuihi.
My husband has prepared breakfast.Ka tīmata rāua ki te horoi i te whare.
They have started to wash the house.He maha ngā moni kua pau i a ia i te toa.
She has spent lots of money at the shop.Kei te waruwaru rātou i ngā rīwai.
They are peeling the spuds.Kei te rapu tā mātou ngeru i tāna kai.
Our cat is searching for his food.Kei roto ngā putiputi i te ipu.
The flowers are in the vase.I aha koe i te mutunga wiki.
What did you do in the weekend?Ka tunu au i te parāoa ā tēnei pō.
I'll bake the bread tonight.Kei te āwhina rāua i a Taika.
They (2) are helping Taika.I tupu au i Te Tonga.
I grew up down South.Oma atu i a ia!
Run away from her!I kaukau ngā tamariki i te whanga.
The children swam in the bay.Kei te moe ia i tōna moenga.
He's sleeping on his bed.Ka kai tātou i tētahi ika nui.
We will eat a big fish.Kuhu atu ki roto i tō moenga.
Get in your bed.Ko mataku māua i a ia.
We were frightened by him.E moe ana au i tētahi rākau kākāriki.
I am sleeping in a green tree.Ka hoe atu ngā tāngata i uta ki tai.
The people will paddle from the shore towards the sea.Whakaorangia mātou i te kino.
Deliver us from evil.Te whakamau atu i te kope mā.
Putting on a fresh nappyKei te pata au i te tōhi mā te parakuihi.
I'm buttering the toast for breakfast.Kua whakareri tāku tāne i te parakuihi.
My husband has prepared breakfast.Me kau hoki ki hea i te tawhiti ki waho o te moana nui?
Where could he swim to, from such a distance out in the ocean?Ka kohi au i te kaimoana.
I will collect sea food.E taupoki ana ia i te māra.
She's digging the garden.Kei te whakaoti rātou i ā rātou taumahi.
They are competing their assignments.I rārāina ngā tuna i runga ake i te mānuka poa.
The eels were smoked over smouldering mānuka.Kei te mau ia i tētahi pōtae, i tētahi poraka, i tētahi tīhate, me tētahi hāte hoki.
She is wearing a hat, a jersey, a t-shirt and a shirt.I pakaru te wini i a Mia.
The window was broken by Mia.Kua mākū katoa ngā tamariki i te ua.
The children are all wet from the rain.Ka haere au ki te tiki miraka i te pouaka makariri.
I will go and fetch the milk from the fridge.Ki te tiki i tō tungane i te pahi.
To pick up your brother from the bus.E kihi ana a Manu i a Aroha.
Manu is kissing Aroha.Ka hanga a Honi i tōku whare.
Honi will build my house.Kei te whakatokopā au i a koe.
I am burping you.Āe, kua kai au i te tītī.
Yes I have eaten mutton bird.Ka haere i te ara i runga i te rangitoto, ke ahu ki Onehunga.
[They] went along the path over the scoria and headed to Onehunga.Kei te pānui te tama i te pukapuka.
The boy is reading the book.Kua pau i a ia te paraoa te kai.
He has eaten up the bread.Kei te mau hū au pērā i ō Michael Jordan.
I am wearing shoes like Michael Jordan's.