Using stative verbs

Ngā tūāhua

There are two types of words used as verbs in Māori, each having its own particular grammatical patterns. One type indicates a state, condition or quality. When a stative is used in a sentence as a verb, it indicates that the subject has reached a state. Look at the following examples:

Kua reri te kai.	The food is ready.
I pau ngā rare.	The lollies were finished (consumed).
Kua mutu te kēmu.	The game has finished.
Ka mau te tāhae.	The thief was caught.
Kua tata te ono karaka.	It's nearly 6 o'clock.

There are many statives that can be used as verbs so it is important that you know which words are statives and those that are ordinary verbs. If you have a copy of Te Kākano, you will notice that some words in the vocabulary lists in the back of the book have words that have endings in brackets, for example, āwhina(-tia) – to assist, help. These words are not statives. The meaning of statives are given as to ‘be …’, for example, reri – be ready. The vocabulary lists of Te Whanake Animations also follow this convention.

If the speaker or writer needs to indicate who or what caused the state of the subject to come about, then the user will add this and precede it with i. Look at the following examples:

I pau ngā rare i ngā tamariki.	The lollies were consumed by the children.
Ka mau te tāhae i te pirihimana.	The thief was caught by the policewoman.
I ngaro te paoro i te tama.	The ball was lost by the boy.
Ka pakaru ngā matapihi i te āwhā.	The windows were smashed by the storm.
I mahue te tangata i te tereina.	The person was left behind by the train.
Kua kī taku puku i te kai.	My belly is full with food.

If a person’s name or a personal pronoun is used to indicate they were responsible for the state or condition to come about, it is preceded by a.

Ka pakaru te tūru hou i a ia.	The new chair was broken by her.
Kua mau te taraute nui i a Piripi!	Piripi has caught a huge trout!

Further explanations and examples: Te Kākano p. 57, Te Aka

Pānuitia ngā kōrerorero, ā, whiriwhiria ngā rerenga kōrero e tika ana mō te reo Pākehā, kātahi ka pēhi ai i te pātene kia kite ai mehemea he tika ō whakautu, he hē rānei.