Māori Grammar

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The cat is on the table

kei runga

Here are the important locative words:

hea: where
konei: here, this place (by me)
konā: there, that place or thereabouts (by you)
korā: over there
mua: in front, before
muri: behind, after
raro: under, beneath
reira: there, the aforementioned place or time
roto: in, inside, into
runga: on, above
tai: seaward
tawhiti: in the distance, afar
te taha matau: the right-hand side
te taha mauī: the left-hand side
tu: beyond, on the other side
tātahi: the seaside, the beach
tāwāhi: overseas, abroad, the other side
uta: ashore, landward
waenganui: between, middle, amid
waho: outside

Kei raro te ngeru i te tōtara.
The cat is under the tōtara tree.

Kei tana hoa a Ari.
Ari is with his friend.

Kei roto ia i te kihini.
He is in the kitchen.

Kei roto ia i tōna rūma moe.
He is in his bedroom.

Kei te haere au ki roto
I am going inside.

Kei roto taku kāri utu-ā-hiko i taku pūkoro.
My eftpos card is in my pocket.

Kei raro iho nei he tauira o te reremahi poto.
Below is an example of a short verbal sentence.

He kapu kei te taha matau o te pouaka whakaata.
A cup is on the right-hand side of the television.

Kei waenganui te kōtiro i ōna mātua.
The girl is between her parents.

Anā, kei tō taha mauī.
There it is. On your left side.

Kei waenganui te tāone i te ngahere.
The town is in the middle of the bush.

Kei te kurī raro i te motokā.
The dog is under the car.

Kei roto ia i te whare.
He/she's inside.

Kei waenganui ngā tūru i ngā tēpu.
The chairs are in between the tables.

Kei raro ō hū i tō moenga.
Your shoes are under your bed.

Kei roto a Koa mā i te kīhini.
Koa is in the kitchen.

Kei raro i te motokā te kurī e kimihia ana e koe.
The dog which you are looking for is under the car.

Kei runga te tioka i te ara.
The chalk is on the path.

Te reka hoki! Hei, titiro ki muri i a koe, ki te taha matau, kei te kīhini taku hoa e mahi ana.
Delicious! Hey, look behind you, to the right, my friend is working in the kitchen.

Kei runga tāku rorohiko i tōku tēpu tari.
My computer is on my desk.

Kei roto tonu ia i tōna rūma moe.
He is still in his bedroom.

Kei runga te kapu i te tēpu.
The cup is on the table.

Kei roto i a Ngāti Tahu.
Among Ngāi Tahu.

Kei roto te miraka i te pounamu.
The milk is in the bottle.

Kei roto rāua i te kīhini.
Those two are in the kitchen.

Kei roto te kāheru i te wharau
The spade is in the shed.

Titiro ki tō taha mauī.
Look to your left.

Kei roto tāku kāri nama i tāku pāhi.
My credit card is in my wallet.

Kei roto ō kī i te motukā.
Your keys are in the car.

Kei waenganui āu kī i te tūru me te waea pūkoro.
Your keys are between the chair and the cell phone.

Kei tō taha mauī te rūma kaukau.
The bathroom is on your left?

Kei roto ngā tamariki i te whare kura.
The children are in the school building.

Kei roto ngā kūmara i te umu.
The kumara are in the oven.

Kei waenganui te tamaiti i ngā kuia.
The child is between the elderly women.

Kei te taha matau o te rākau te kāinga o te kurī.
The dog's home is on the right side of the tree.

Kei raro ngā taonga tākaro i te nohoanga.
The toys are under the sofa.

Kei waenganui a Aroha i te rākau me te motokā.
Aroha is between the tree and the car.

I runga a Hera rāoua ko Pita i te atamira.
Hera and Pita were on the stage.

Kei roto ngā rākau i te wao.
There are trees in the forest.

Anei, kei taku taha matau.
Here it is, by my right side.

Kei runga tō mātou whare i tētahi puke.
Our (3/+ exclusive) house is on a hill.

Kei roto a Kahurangi rāua ko Hōhepa i tō rāua whare.
Kahurangi and Hōhepa are inside their house.

Kei roto a Tawa rāua ko Rina i tō rāua whare.
Tawa and Rina are inside their house.

Kei waenganui i rāua.
Inbetween them.

Kei raro ia i te rākau.
He is under the tree.

Kei raro i te pukapuka.
Under the book.

Kei te noho ia, i runga i te tūru, kōrero pukapuka ai.
He's sitting in a chair reading a book.

Kei waenganui tana matua i ngā manuhiri.
Her/his father is in the middle of the visitors.

Kei waenganui a Tūrehu i ana tuākana.
Tūrehu is between her older sisters.

Kei waenganui rāua i ngā tama.
They are among the boys.

He aha kei te taha matau o te pouaka whakaata?
What's on the right-hand side of the television?

Kei roto te paruauru i te wharau. E moe ana ia
The gardener is in the shed. He's sleeping.

Kei waenganui i te whare kori tinana me te toa kākahu.
It's between the gym and the clothing store.

Kei roto tō waea pūkoro i te kīhini.
You mobile phone is in the kicthen.

Kei roto a Rangi rāua ko Ari i tō rāua whare.
Rangi and Ari are inside their (2x) house.