Māori Grammar

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

Kei tua ngā mate i tērā ārai.
The dead are beyond that veil.

Kei waho ōku hoa i te kūaha.
My friends are outside the door.

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

Kei roto a Pāora rāua ko Mia i tō rāua whare.
Pāora and Mia are inside their house.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Titiro ki tō taha mauī.
Look to your left.

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

Kei raro i te pukapuka.
Under the book.

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

Kei waenga ō tātou manuhiri i a tātou.
Our visitors are among us.

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

Kei waenganui i rāua.
Inbetween them.

Kei roto taua kāinga i a Ngāti Porou.
That place is Ngāti Porou territory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kei raro a Ōamaru i Murihiku.
Oamaru is north of Murihiku.

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

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

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

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

Kei te haere au ki roto
I am going inside.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

I runga a Amaru rāoua ko Honi i te atamira.
Amaru and Honi were on the stage.

Kei roto i a Ngāti Tahu.
Among Ngāi Tahu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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