Exercise Three
Saying what something is not
Ehara tēnei i te mahi uaua
Saying what something is not
You have already been introduced to some ways to negate a sentence, now you will learn another way. Affirmative sentences starting with He or Ko are usually negated with Ehara. Take a look at the following examples and take note of the change of word order.
| He rangi tino ātaahua tēnei. | This is a very beautiful day. |
| Ehara tēnei i te rangi tino ātaahua. | This is not a very beautiful day. |
| He tangata weriweri ia. | He is a an ugly person. |
| Ehara ia i te tangata weriweri. | He is not an ugly person. |
| He tamariki haututū ērā. | Those are mischievous children. |
| Ehara ērā tamariki i te haututū. | Those are not mischievous children. |
| Ko Mīria te kuia o Neihana. | Mīria is Neihana’s grandmother. |
| Ehara a Mīria i te kuia o Neihana. | Mīria is not Neihana’s grandmother. |
| Ko koe te kaiwaiata mō te ope nei. | You are the singer for this group. |
| Ehara koe i te kaiwaiata mō te ope nei, | You are not the singer for this group. |
| Ko tēnei te rā whakamutunga o te Koroneihana. | This is the last day of the Coronation. |
| Ehara tēnei i te rā whakamutunga o te Koroneihana. | This is not the last day of the Coronation. |
Whakakīa ngā āputa kia tika ai te whakakāhoretanga o ngā rerenga kōrero.
Fill the gaps so that the negative sentences are correct.
Don’t forget to use commas, question marks, and fullstops and macrons where appropriate (ā,ē,ī,ō, and ū).
That is not a spider.
Ehara
That car is not a green car.
This food is not yummy food.
Ehara
This is not a small pāua
Ehara
Wiremu is not Mīria’a son.
Ehara tō
Your friend is not a know-all.
Today is not Tarati’s birthday.
Those are not my jeans.