grammar
Kātahi anō au ka ako “kātahi anō + ka .. “
I just learnt the “kātahi anō + ka “ sentence structure.
I just learnt the" “kātahi anō + ka” sentence structure for the first time.
I finally learnt the “kātahi anō + ka” sentence structure.
And now, so have you.
The Reo Project | Day 214
I've been confused for a while about kia. It shows up in our most common phrase kia ora but then essentially nowhere else (that I've found).
But I'm learning things. Here's two places I now know kia belongs in Te Reo Māori.
Commands using statives.
Basically this is when you are giving a command or instruction where you want the listener to achieve a particular state e.g. Kia ora (Be well) Kia tere (Be fast).
As a negative form of the verbal sentence that starts with kua.
Kua usually indicates that something has begun, but may not be finished, and the examples make more sense as questions and answers like this:
Kua moea koe? - Have I begun sleeping?
Kāo. Kāore anō au kia moe. - No. I have not begun sleeping.
The Reo Project | Day 207
Today I learnt about negative sentence structures for different tohu o te wā (tenses).
This only applies for some type of sentence but I’m not sure what those types are is, other than I know we didn’t cover passives.
Basically, to construct a negative sentence:
Start the sentence with kāore
Move the subject of the sentence (e.g. au, koe, tāua, rātou) from the “end” of the sentence to immediately after kāore (with one exception).
Include the correct verb construction for the tense.
I learnt about six different tohu o te wā today. For normal (non-negative) sentences, there are different kupu which begin the sentence that tell you when the action is situated.
These six are:
E … ana
Kua …
I …
Kei te …
Ka …
I te …
For negative sentences, three are the same and three are different. (Spot which three are different. Hint: They’re in bold).
… e … ana
… anō … kia …
… i …
… i te … *
… e …
… i te … *
*note that the negative is the same for present tense /Kei te… and past continuing action / I te … .
Confused? So was I.
Here’s an example using haere and au/ahau.
Te wā - Tohu o te wā | Whakakahōre
E haere ana au | Kāore au e haere ana
I am going (continually). I am not going (continually)**
Kua haere au | Kāore anō au kia haere
I had gone. I had not gone**
I haere au | Kāore au i haere
I went. I did not go**
Kei te haere au | Kāore au i haere ana
I am going (right now). I am not going (right now)**
Ka haere au | Kāore au e haere
I will go. I will not go**
I te haere au | Kāore au i te haere
I was going. I was not going**
Check out the kupu o te rā summary page for more information on negatives,
The Reo Project | Day 173
**The English translations are especially loose. Like many things on The Reo Project, they’re not necessarily correct, they’re my best guess at what I think they mean. Like everything I post, don’t take it for granted, use it as inspiration to go on your own journey!
I’ve been slogging away learning grammar on Anki, slowing learning phrases and contexts by reading Te Kākano, but really struggling to feel I was making any headway on grammar without a kiaako (teacher).
And then, I discovered Tipu.
It’s gamified grammar learning on your cellphone.
I’m hooked.
Tipu is a grammar-learning app created by Plink Software, a Nelson-based software development company.
Here’s what they have to say about themselves:
Plink Software specialises in kaupapa Māori software.
Founded by husband and wife Jeremy and Melissa Banks, Plink strives to connect Māori to their language and their whakapapa.
All I can say is:
It’s awesome.
Of course, I actually have more to say than that. Here’s a little list of things I might say, if you asked me:
If you aren’t particularly motivated to learn Te Reo or don’t know where to start, I’d suggest starting with this app. It’s simple, self-paced and you’ll progress even if all you do is switch out five minutes of social media for using the app each day.
If you’re doing self-paced Te Reo learning where you’re picking up one word at a time as you go, download this app. You’ll get the benefit of learning simple grammatical structures to make sense of (and make sentences of) the words you’re picking up.
If you’re a hard-core Te Reo learning machine, download this app so you can find out how simple it is and then tell your mates.
If you’re in the education sector check out the app then look into Tipu for schools.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I think there’s some goodness in this app for everyone, even if it’s just to turn an addiction to instant gratification and mobile screens into something productive.
To make it easy, here’s the link for Android and iOs users.
The Reo Project | Day 82