Māori Grammar

Kia … ai expresses the purpose of an action: in order to, so that, so as to, or that someone may/might do something. One action is performed to bring about another action or state. It is not simply that one action follows another - for that we would use ka...ai or kātahi ka:

Kei te waiata ahau, ka kanikani ai a Mere.
I sang and then Mere danced.

This merely describes a sequence of events. Kia... ai indicates that the first action facilitates the second:

I waiata ahau, kia kanikani ai a Mere.
I sang so that Mere would dance.

The basic order is main clause + kia + verb or stative + ai + subject and remaining information.

The same structure is used for past, present and future sentences:

Kei te waiata ahau, kia kanikani ai a Mere.
I am singing so that Mere willdance.

Ka waiata ahau, kia kanikani ai a Mere.
I will sing so that Mere will dance.

Ai llnks the intended outcome to the preceding action or circumstance; in these sentences Mere singing is related by the word ai to me singing mentioned earlier in the sentence. Often the particle ai it is not translatable in English.

Kia... ai tells about the intention of the action but does not tell us if it was successful - I have may have sung so that Mere dances, but Mere still might not have got up on the dance floor. I may drive to the supermarket in order for the kids to go shopping, but if the car breaks down along the way, we might not get there.

The second action might be a verb:

Hokona he kai kia kai ai rātou katoa.
Buy some food so that they may all eat.

The second action might be a passive:

Hokona he kai kia kainga ai e rātou katoa.
Buy some food so that it will be eaten by them all.

The second action might also be a stative:

Hokona he kai kia pau ai i a rātou katoa.
Buy some food so that it will all be consumed by them.

Generally, but not always, the subject of the second clause will be different from the subject of the main clause in the sentence. For example, if I go to the beach to swim:

Kei te haere ahau ki tātahi ki te kauhoe.
I am going to the beach to swim.

In this sentence, "I" is the subject of both clauses. However, kia... ai could still be used. However, when the subject of the second clause is different from that of the first, then kia... ai must be used:

Kei te haere ahau ki tātahi kia kauhoe ai ngā tamariki.
I am going to the beach so the children can swim.

"I" is the subject of the first clause, but the children are the subject of the second clause - and so kia... ai is used.

Note that a verb will typically go between the kia and the ai. However, this can also be a verbal phrase with its modifiers or directional particles. For example, it is kia haere atu ai and not kia haere ai atu:

Karangatia ia kia hoki mai ai ia ki te kāinga.
Call him so that he will come back home.

A negative purpose (so that something does not happen), kia kore ai … e … is used:

Haere mai koe ki konei kia kore ai koe e mākū.
Come over here so that you don't get wet.

Note that in these negations, ai follows kore and not the verb.

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For the purpose of someone else doing something

Kia... ai

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Kia... ai with passives

Kia ai

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Kia... ai with statives

kia... ai