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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.
Kua whakarite tāku tāne i te parakuihi.
My husband has prepared breakfast.I tākaro netipōro mātou i te ata o te Rāhoroi.
We played netball on Saturday morning.Kei te pata au i te tōhi mā te parakuihi.
I'm buttering the toast for breakfast.Kei te āwhina rāua i a Amaru.
They (2) are helping Amaru.Kei te pānui te tama i te pukapuka.
The boy is reading the book.Te whakamau atu i te kope mā.
Putting on a fresh nappyKa hopu a Poti i te manu.
Pussy catches the bird.Kei te whakatokopā au i a koe.
I am burping you.Kuhu atu ki roto i tō moenga.
Get in your bed.E kore au e ngaki i te māra.
I won't weed the garden.Kei te whakaoti rātou i ā rātou taumahi.
They are competing their assignments.Kei te rapu tā mātou ngeru i tāna kai.
Our cat is searching for his food.Ka tīmata rāua ki te horoi i te whare.
They have started to wash the house.Ka hoatu ahau i te pukapuka ki a koe.
I will give you the book.Ka hoe atu ngā tāngata i uta ki tai.
The people will paddle from the shore towards the sea.Ko mataku māua i a ia.
We were frightened by him.Kei roto ngā putiputi i te ipu.
The flowers are in the vase.E moe ana au i tētahi rākau kākāriki.
I am sleeping in a green tree.Ki te tiki i tō tungane i te pahi.
To pick up your brother from the bus.Kei te moe ia i tōna moenga.
He's sleeping on his bed.I tupu au i Te Tonga.
I grew up down South.Inapō au i whakaoti ai i taku mahi.
Yesterday I finished my work.Kua mākū katoa ngā tamariki i te ua.
The children are all wet from the rain.Kei te waruwaru rātou i ngā rīwai.
They are peeling the spuds.Ka hanga a Tame i tōku whare.
Tame will build my house.Oma atu i a ia!
Run away from her!I pakaru te wini i a Kauri.
The window was broken by Kauri.He maha ngā moni kua pau i a ia i te toa.
She has spent lots of money at the shop.Kua whakareri tāku tāne i te parakuihi.
My husband has prepared breakfast.Whakaorangia mātou i te kino.
Deliver us from evil.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?I rārāina ngā tuna i runga ake i te mānuka poa.
The eels were smoked over smouldering mānuka.Ka kai tātou i tētahi ika nui.
We will eat a big fish.Ka kohi au i te kaimoana.
I will collect sea food.I aha koe i te mutunga wiki.
What did you do in the weekend?Kua pau i a ia te paraoa te kai.
He has eaten up the bread.Ka tunu au i te parāoa ā tēnei pō.
I'll bake the bread tonight.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.Āe, kua kai au i te tītī.
Yes I have eaten mutton bird.E kihi ana a Tawa i a Rina.
Tawa is kissing Rina.Ka āwhina aua manu i te tīwaiwaka.
Those birds help the fantail.Kei te mau hū au pērā i ō Michael Jordan.
I am wearing shoes like Michael Jordan's.I kaukau ngā tamariki i te whanga.
The children swam in the bay.Ka haere au ki te tiki miraka i te pouaka makariri.
I will go and fetch the milk from the fridge.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.