Māori Grammar

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Te Reo Māori Level 1
Sentences with i - i

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 kai tātou i tētahi ika nui.
We will eat a big fish.

Ki te tiki i tungane i te pahi.
To pick up your brother from the bus.

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.

Ka haere au ki te tiki miraka i te pouaka makariri.
I will go and fetch the milk from the fridge.

Ka tunu au i te parāoa ā tēnei .
I'll bake the bread tonight.

Kuhu atu ki roto i moenga.
Get in your bed.

Kei roto ngā putiputi i te ipu.
The flowers are in the vase.

Ka tīmata rāua ki te horoi i te whare.
They have started to wash the house.

Kei te pānui te tama i te pukapuka.
The boy is reading the book.

Oma atu i a ia!
Run away from her!

Kei te āwhina rāua i a Tame.
They (2) are helping Tame.

Kei te whakaoti rātou i ā rātou taumahi.
They are competing their assignments.

Ka āwhina aua manu i te tīwaiwaka.
Those birds help the fantail.

Kei te rapu mātou ngeru i tāna kai.
Our cat is searching for his food.

Kei te whakatokopā au i a koe.
I am burping you.

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 hanga a Hēmi i tōku whare.
Hēmi will build my house.

Kua whakarite tāku tāne i te parakuihi.
My husband has prepared breakfast.

I aha koe i te mutunga wiki.
What did you do in the weekend?

Te whakamau atu i te kope .
Putting on a fresh nappy

Inapō au i whakaoti ai i taku mahi.
Yesterday I finished my work.

Kei te moe ia i tōna moenga.
He's sleeping on his bed.

Kei te mau au pērā i ō Michael Jordan.
I am wearing shoes like Michael Jordan's.

I tākaro netipōro mātou i te ata o te Rāhoroi.
We played netball on Saturday morning.

I rārāina ngā tuna i runga ake i te mānuka poa.
The eels were smoked over smouldering mānuka.

E moe ana au i tētahi rākau kākāriki.
I am sleeping in a green tree.

Kua pau i a ia te paraoa te kai.
He has eaten up the bread.

Kua mākū katoa ngā tamariki i te ua.
The children are all wet from the rain.

Ko mataku māua i a ia.
We were frightened by him.

Ka hopu a Poti i te manu.
Pussy catches the bird.

E taupoki ana ia i te māra.
She's digging the garden.

Kei te waruwaru rātou i ngā rīwai.
They are peeling the spuds.

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.

I pakaru te wini i a Kauri.
The window was broken by Kauri.

Ka kohi au i te kaimoana.
I will collect sea food.

He maha ngā moni kua pau i a ia i te toa.
She has spent lots of money at the shop.

Kei te pata au i te tōhi te parakuihi.
I'm buttering the toast for breakfast.

E kihi ana a Rangi i a Aroha.
Rangi is kissing Aroha.

Āe, kua kai au i te tītī.
Yes I have eaten mutton bird.

Whakaorangia mātou i te kino.
Deliver us from evil.

I kaukau ngā tamariki i te whanga.
The children swam in the bay.

Ka hoatu ahau i te pukapuka ki a koe.
I will give you the book.

E kore au e ngaki i te māra.
I won't weed the garden.

I tupu au i Te Tonga.
I grew up down South.

Kua whakareri tāku tāne i te parakuihi.
My husband has prepared breakfast.

Ka hoe atu ngā tāngata i uta ki tai.
The people will paddle from the shore towards the sea.