Exercise Seven
Making requests more polite using koa
Koa is used to soften commands and requests. Koa is similar to saying ‘please’ in English. It should be noted that koa usually comes after the verb, or after directionals (mai, atu, iho, ake) if they are present. Tēnā koa is also placed at the beginning of a request with a similar meaning.
Hei tauira:
| Waiho koa ngā kākahu ki reira. | Please leave the clothes over there. |
| Tēnā koa, āwhinatia mai. | Please help me. |
| Homai koa te pepa nā. | Can you hand me the paper there, please. |
| Whiua mai koa te paoro. | Can you throw me the ball, please. |
| Kei waho rā ōku hū. Homai koa. | My shoes are outside. Can you give them to me please. |
Further explanations and examples: Te Kākano p. 111.
Whiriwhirihia te kōrero e tika ana.
Don’t forget to use commas, question marks, and fullstops and macrons where appropriate (ā,ē,ī,ō, and ū).