Maori Unpacked, 17, Tense
17
Tense
Are you tense?
Stretch! Take a deep breath! Don't knock any boxes over!
Revise your vowels;
a
e
i
o
u
There. Now that the tension has gone-
Let's look again at tense
Ka pai te kai.
The food is good.
Inanahi ka pai te kai.
Yesterday the food was good.
Aapoopoo ka pai te kai.
Tomorrow the food will be good.
I teenei raa ka pai te kai.
Today the food is good.
Like any good detective you get your clues from the context.
Inanahi, yesterday, sets things in the past.
Aapoopoo, tomorrow, sets things in the future.
I teenei raa, today, sets things in the present.
ka is like a bit of plasticine, it can be molded to suit the occasion.
ka is known as the inceptive tense marker.
It all depends on the clues Watson, the context, old man..
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