Māori Grammar

Sentences with a subclause - e... ana

Usually, the tense marker is at the start of a sentence:

Kei te waiata te wahine.
The woman is singing.

I te waiata te wahine.
The woman was singing.

E waiata ana te wahine.
The woman is singing.

Sometimes a sentence has two parts or clauses, such as "I am listening to the woman who is singing". This sentence has two parts: I am listening, and the woman is singing.

In te reo Māori, the second part of sentence can be expressed using e... ana...:

Kei te whakarongo au ki te wahine e waiata ana.
I am listening to the woman who is singing.

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Have you heard the bird that is singing in the morning?

e... ana as a subclause

I rongo au i a ia e ngongoro ana.
I heard him snoring.

Kua pau te hāora e maremare ana.
He has been coughing for an hour.

Tokotoru ngā tohunga e hauhau ana i ngā waka nei.
There were three experts hewing these canoes.

Kei roto i te ngahere ngā manu e tangi ana.
The birds are singing in the forest.

Tokoono ngā tāngata e noho ana kei tōku whare.
There are six people living at my house.

Ko Rangi te mea e mōhio ana ki te reo Māori.
Rangi is the one who knows te reo Māori.

Ko Ataahua te kuia e karanga ana ki te manuhiri.
Ataahua is the old woman who calls to the visitors.

He makawe whero te wahine e waiata ana.
The woman singing has red hair.

Ko te hapu e noho ana i Maungawhau e mea ana nā rātou taua moana.
The sub-tribe living at Maungawhau said that that sea was theirs.

Kei te titiro au ki te tamaiti e menemene mai ana.
I am looking at the child who is smiling at me.

Kātahi ka tuku i a au kia tū ana, i a rātou e whakatā ana.
Then they left me standing while they had a rest.

Kei ngā pō mārama, kei ngā pō rākaunui o te marama, e kitea atu ana a Rona.
On clear nights, on nights when the moon is full, Rona can be seen.

I te kurī e auau ana, ka oma atu to kaiā.
While the dog was barking, the thief ran away.

Kei roto ngā tamariki te te rūma moe e tākaro ana.
The kids are in the bedroom playing.

Tokorima ngā tauira e katakata ana ki a ia.
There are five students laughing at him.

Ka pūkana mai ngā tāngata e haka ana.
The people who are doing the haka will do fierce facial expressions.

I a ia e kai ana, ka kite ia i tōna hoa.
While he was eating, he saw his friend.

He makawe pākākā ō te wahine e waiata ana.
The woman singing has brown hair.

E hia te roa e noho ana koe i reira?
How long have you need living there?

E iwa ngā hoihō e oma atu ana.
There are nine horses running away.

Kei te whare hākinakina a Kauri e whakapakari ana.
Kauri is at the gym working out.