Action!!
Creating action sentences!
Learning how to say you are doing things, did things or will do things really adds rocket fuel to your learning journey.
We are practicing Action sentences for Reo 2 Go in our class. We aren't concentrating on the grammar points , we decided instead to look at the basic structure of an action sentence and go on from there.
Below are the three basic elements to a basic action sentence in te reo māori. You need all three elements in this order to make up your kōrero. When you learn more kupu, you can add to the end or beginning of this basic structure. for now, lets practice this basic structure first.
tohu ō te wā
kupu mahi
kai mahi
Tense Marker : Past, Present , Future.
Verb / Action Word
Person or Thing doing the action.
Each week we will upload a Reo 2 Go sheet practicing the basic structure above. Check back each week so you can practice as well. Don't forget your Reo 2 Go contract and commit to using your Reo 2 Go phrases and kupu at least three times in the upcoming week! Kia kaha! Karawhiua!
Future tense - Ka
An action to be performed in the future
Ka kōrero ahau - I will speak
Ka tangi ia - She will cry
Ka pōuri a Mere - Mere will be sad
Present tense - Kei te
An action being performed at the current moment
Kei te oma ia - She/He is running
Kei te mahi ia - He is working
Kei te waiata rāua - They (2+ ppl) are singing
Past Tense - I
An action was performed in the past
I kai ahau - I ate
I tōmuri koe - You were late
I tākaro ngā tamariki - The children played
Upsize your action sentences! Make your action sentence a little longer by adding new kupu!
This week we added kupu to our future tense action sentences.
Now we can say what we will be doing tommorow, later or next week.
Each week commit yourself to using the Reo 2 Go phrases you choose at least three times per week. Challenge yourself to replace the english equivalent in your day. Download and print your Reo 2 Go contract here.
Disclaimer: Grammar is great! We encourage it! But the focus in our classes is Use. Giving people the confidence to use their reo is more important at this stage. Grammar is a tool and resource you can add to your kete at a later date. Just as we do with the English language, from birth we are taught to just use it in order to function in society. Some of us will never know the importance of a verb or noun, but it doesn't take away from our ability to use the language. Some great grammar references are Ray Harlows' A Māori Reference Grammar and Bruce Biggs' Lets learn Māori.