Exercise Three

Asking why something happened

He aha koe i kōrero pēnā ai?
Asking why something happened

He aha ai? is used to simply ask why? But, if you want to include the verb in the sentence to know why a specific thing happened in the past, the ai follows the verb directly. Here are some examples to help illustrate.

Haere ki waho!

He aha ai?

Me oma tāua .

He aha ai?

He aha tō māmā i haere ai?

He aha koutou i mahi pērā ai?

He aha a Te Hererīpene i kata ai?

Go outside!

Why?

We should run.

Why?

Why did your mum go?

Why did you behave like that?

Why did Te Hererīpene laugh?

Tirohia te rerenga Pākehā e whai ake nei, ā, ka kite anō koe i tētahi rerenga i roto i te reo Māori, engari kua hē te whakatakoto o ngā kupu. Ko tāu mahi, he whakatikatika kia rite ai te rerenga Māori ki te rerenga Pākehā.
Look at the English sentences that follow and you will also see sentences in Māori, but they are mixed up. Your job is to rearrange the sentences so that they are equivalent to the English sentence

Kei wareware i a koe ngā piko, ngā tohu pātai, ngā ira kati me ngā tohutō i ngā wāhi e tika ana.

ki ai He nei Aotearoa aha ki ? rātou haere i mai

Why did they come to New Zealand?

tāne wahine ? ai He i hāparangi aha tērā te ki

Why was the lady screaming at that man?

rāua Eruera a Te Hererīpene ko He ai ngenge i aha ?

Why were Te Hererīpene and Eruera tired?

te Māori ki hiahia te ai ? i i He reo ako koe aha

Why did you want to learn the Māori language?

haere ? ai He koutou Te Kauwhata ki i

Why did you go to Te Kauwhata?

? ai Wiremu a Tarati He rāua aha ko rōpū utu mō i te

Why did Wiremu and Tarati pay for the group?

tangi ? He tō ai i tamaiti

Why was your child crying?

He kau ai te i marama ? peke te i

Why did the cow jump the moon?