NCEA Te Reo Matatini - Te Reo Whakaputa Co-requisite (NZQA Standard 32415) flashcards

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VSO sentence order

Te reo Māori clauses normally order verb, then subject, then object: 'Ka kai te tamaiti i te āporo' means the child eats the apple.

Particle 'i' for past

The particle 'i' before a verb marks past time, as in 'I haere au ki te kura'. The same 'i' also marks a direct object after a transitive verb.

Particle 'kei te'

'Kei te' marks present continuous action, as in 'Kei te ako ia i te reo'. It answers what is happening now and contrasts with 'kua' for completed action.

Particle 'kua'

'Kua' marks an action completed or a state reached before the time of speaking, as in 'Kua tae mai te manuhiri'. It often translates as 'has' or 'have' in English.

Negation with kāore

'Kāore ... i' negates past clauses, 'kāore ... e' negates present and future clauses, and 'kāore ... kia' negates perfect clauses. Choose the particle that matches the tense.

Ehara nominal negation

'Ehara ... i' negates a nominal or equative sentence, as in 'Ehara ia i te kaiako' meaning she is not a teacher. It pairs with 'i', not with 'e'.

A and O possession

Use 'a' category for movable, acquired or active possession (tāku pukapuka) and 'o' category for inherent, passive or inalienable possession (tōku whare, ōku mātua).

Definite and indefinite articles

'Te' marks a definite singular noun, 'ngā' a definite plural, and 'he' an indefinite noun phrase. 'Tētahi' marks a particular but unspecified one.

Locative 'i' and 'o'

Locative nouns such as runga, raro and roto take 'i te' for general position (kei runga i te tēpu) and 'o te' when the location belongs to the object (kei raro o te whare).

Passive ending selection

Passive endings include -a, -ia, -tia, -ngia, -hia, -ria, -kia, -whia, -mia and -nga. The correct ending is fixed by the verb and must be learned word by word.

Macron function

A macron marks a long vowel and changes meaning: keke is cake, kēkē is armpit. Omitting macrons in written work is treated as a spelling error.

Consistent vowel length writing

Some iwi write long vowels as double letters (aa, ee) rather than macrons. Either convention is acceptable, but one text must use one convention throughout.

Written text structure

Formal written production uses whakatakinga for introduction, whakamārama for explanation, taunakitanga for evidence, and whakakapinga for conclusion. This four-part shape supports coherent development.

Reported speech marker

Indirect speech uses 'i kī a [name]' followed by the reported clause, with tense particles kept inside the clause. Direct speech instead uses quotation marks or 'e ai ki a'.

Formal written connectives

Connectives such as 'i te mea', 'nā te mea', 'ahakoa', 'engari' and 'otirā' raise register in writing. They are less frequent in everyday spoken interaction.

Digraphs ng and wh

In te reo Māori, 'ng' and 'wh' each represent a single consonant sound. 'Wh' is pronounced like English 'f' in most modern dialects and as 'hw' in some regions.

Vowel sound values

The five vowels have one sound each, roughly as in father, bed, see, saw and food. Length, marked by macron, distinguishes otherwise identical words.

Greeting by audience number

Use 'tēnā koe' for one person, 'tēnā kōrua' for two, and 'tēnā koutou' for three or more. 'Kia ora tātou' includes the speaker; 'kia ora koutou' excludes them.

Fluency repair markers

Spoken repair uses 'waiho', 'me kī' or immediate restatement of the correct form. Acknowledged and repaired errors are treated as fluency features rather than accuracy failures.

Spoken planning fillers

Fillers such as 'ā', 'nā reira' and 'kia pai ai' signal structure and hold the floor. They are preferable to long silences, which read as breakdowns in spoken production.

Stress placement rule

Stress falls on a long vowel rather than automatically on the first syllable. Whakapapa stresses the first 'a', while whakapāpā shifts stress to the final long vowel.

Kīwaha register

Kīwaha are idiomatic expressions such as 'e hoa', 'taihoa' and 'āe rā'. They suit informal speech and are generally avoided in formal written or whaikōrero contexts.

Loanword adaptation

Loanwords are reshaped to Māori phonology, as in motokā for motorcar, hōtēra for hotel and pēke for bank. New concepts often receive descriptive coinages instead.

Domain-specific vocabulary

Subjects carry their own terms: pūtaiao for science, pāngarau for mathematics, tikanga ā-iwi for social studies. Using the correct term is valued over English paraphrase.

Code-switching limit

Occasional English for proper names or new technology is acceptable. Repeated switching to English for content words lowers the judgement of vocabulary range and register control.

Synonym range demonstration

Range is shown by varying words within a text: nui alongside whānui, tini or rāhirahi; pai alongside ataahua or hāngai. Repetition of one item signals limited range.

Marae speech sequence

Formal marae speech follows mihi ki te whenua, mihi ki ngā mate, then mihi ki te hunga ora. Classroom versions of the same content usually omit the section for the dead.

Persuasive text structure

A persuasive piece states a claim, supplies evidence, addresses a counter-argument, then restates the claim. Markers include 'me kī', 'ko te mea nui' and 'nō reira'.

Audience vocabulary calibration

For tamariki, use short sentences, repetition and concrete nouns. For adults, use abstract nouns and subordinate clauses introduced by 'i te mea' or 'ahakoa'.

Purpose categories

Common purposes are pānui to inform, whakamārama to explain, whakatau to persuade, whakangahau to entertain and mihi to acknowledge. Each implies a different structure.

Cohesion connectives

Logical links use 'nā reira' for therefore, 'otirā' for moreover, 'heoi anō' for however, 'i tua atu' for furthermore and 'ka mutu' for finally. Each marks a distinct move.

Paragraph unity rule

Each paragraph carries one main idea, stated in its first sentence and developed by two or three supporting sentences. A point without a supporting detail counts as listed, not developed.