'I' is used to mark the DIRECT OBJECT of a VERB.
It is usually the right choice when the OBJECT is on the receiving end of the ACTION - when the OBJECT gets 'VERBED'.
I patu ia i te pōro
I
patu
ia
i
te
pōro
(past)
hit
he
the
ball
He hit the ball
Kua horoi a Wiremu i te kurī
Kua
horoi
a
Wiremu
i
te
kurī
('has')
washed
Wiremu
the
dog
Wiremu has washed the dog
Kei te tunu te tama i ngā kai
Kei te
tunu
te
tama
i
ngā
kai
(now)
cooking
the
boy
the
food
The boy is cooking the food
E kai ana koe i ngā hanawiti
E
kai
ana
koe
i
ngā
hanawiti
(now+
'ing')
eating
you
the
sandwiches
You are eating the sandwiches
Ka whakaako koe i a tātou
Ka
whakaako
koe
i
a
tātou
(future)
teach
you
us (3+)
You will teach us
In the last example, we see 'a' (the personal article) before the pronoun 'tātou'. We'll look at this in on the next page.
In the examples above, you'll see that there is no English equivalent of the Māori word 'i' in the English translations.
Once again, we're seeing a major difference between Māori and English. In Māori, the relationship between the VERB and the OBJECT is clearly marked. In these examples, that relationship is marked with 'i'.
There are no "dangling" objects in Māori. The link between the VERB and the OBJECT is always shown.
Use 'i' to indicate movement from a point of origin:
I oma rāua i te kura
I
oma
rāua
i
te
kura
(past)
ran
they (2)
from
the
school
They ran from the school
Kua hoki ia i ngā toa
Kua
hoki
ia
i
ngā
toa
('has')
returned
she
from
the
shops
She has returned from the shops
Kua peke te ngeru i te tūru
Kua
peke
te
ngeru
i
te
tūru
('has')
jumped
the
cat
from
the
table
The cat has jumped from the table
'i' is doing a comparable job to the English preposition 'from', in the sense of 'movement away from'
Most EXPERIENCE VERBS use 'ki' to mark their OBJECT, but there are a small number that typically use 'i':
Ka rongo rātou i te waiata
Ka
rongo
rātou
i
te
waiata
(future)
hear
they (3+)
the
song
They will hear the song
Kua kite te kaiako i ngā ākonga
Kua
kite
te
kaiako
i
ngā
ākonga
('has')
seen
the
teacher
the
students
The teacher has seen the students
I mātakitaki māua i te whakataetae
I
mātakitaki
māua
i
te
whakataetae
(past)
watched
we (2)
the
race
We watched the race