Exercise Six
Using place names and location words
He mahana a roto, he makariri a waho
More about using place names and location words
Two uses of the particle a have already been explained in Te Kākano. This is the word that has no English equivalent and is used before people’s names when they are the subject of the sentence and when they follow ki, i, hei and kei.
This use of a can also be used with place names and locations when they are the subject of the sentence. Here are some examples:
Tauira:
| He tāone makariri a Rānana. | London is a cold city. |
| He ātaahua a waho. | Outside is beautiful. |
For further explanations and examples see Te Pihinga p. 24
Whakatikahia ngā rerenga kōrero Māori e whai ake nei. Kua hoatu te whakamāramatanga Pākehā hei āwhina i a koe.
Correct the following Māori sentences. You have been given the correct English meaning to help you out.
Don’t forget to use commas, question marks, and fullstops and macrons where appropriate (ā,ē,ī,ō, and ū).
te a whakatika me whare roto o
The inside of the house must be cleaned.
he Tāmaki-makau-rau a nui tāone
Auckland is a big city.
a whenua he Aotearoa ātaahua
New Zealand is a beautiful country.
paru o a whare he mua te
The front of the house is dirty
Amerika ki a he kaha te poitūkohu tākaro
America is good at playing basketball.
wera he a whenua Awherika
Africa is a hot country.
Kirikiriroa te a taha i kei Tāmaki-makau-rau whakarunga
Hamilton is south of Auckland.
mua te kura o ātaahua he a
The front of the school is beautiful.