Te Reo Rangatira (Level 2) - Wetewete Reo, Whakaputa Kōrero, me te Reo ā-Iwi
This domain tests whether you can produce and analyse sustained reo Māori, not just translate sentences. Markers reward accurate particles, correctly formed passives, deliberate reo ā-iwi and formal register, and whakataukī or kupu whakarite that fit the kaupapa. Control of grammar and occasion earns the marks; vocabulary alone earns little.
Te wā me ngā pūhono
- e … ana marks present or continuous action; ka drives sequential narrative (ka tae, ka noho); i marks past; kua marks a completed state; kia marks wish, purpose or "so that"; me marks obligation; kei te is present, while kei warns.
- Never stack tense markers: kua tae mai, not kua i tae mai. Negatives follow the same frame: kāore ia i tae, kāore ia e moe ana, kāore anō ia kia tae.
Ngā tūmahi me te kaimahi
Passive endings travel with the verb and must be learned: tunu→tunua, hopu→hopukina, kōrero→kōrerotia, tiki→tikina, titiro→tirohia, hoko→hokona. In a passive clause the agent takes e. When the agent is fronted with nā (past, means) or mā (future), the verb returns to active and takes i: Nā te kuia te wai i tiki.
Te reo ā-iwi me te reo ōkawa
Know that kā is the Ngāi Tahu plural article (kā tāngata) and that southern speakers say kai te for kei te. A whaikōrero moves through tauparapara, mihi, whakapapa, kaupapa and poroporoaki, and its register excludes casual kīwaha such as "kei te pai".
He tauira mahi
Take Ka tiki te kuia i te wai. Passivise: tiki→tikina, and the object becomes subject - Ka tikina te wai e te kuia. Now front the agent: Nā te kuia te wai i tiki. Reasoning: nā marks the agent; the verb drops e and reverts to active, and i marks the relative clause te wai i tiki (the water that was fetched). Choosing nā over mā signals past time, not future intention.
Ngā mahanga
Confusing mātou (they and I) with tātou (all of us); missing or misplaced macrons; double-marking kua i; using e with an active verb; literal translations of whakataukī; dropping informal kīwaha into a whaikōrero.