17. Describing Objects
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In “16. Kei te pēhea?” we learnt to ask and answer, how someone or something is. Now we are learning to describe objects using the structure He aha…? You can see that this structure has similarities with our question, ‘Kei te pēhea …?’ and the question we use to ask the time, ‘He aha te wā?’ The similarities and differences across these different types of structures demonstrate different grammatical ways of thinking about description and action in English and te reo.
A really helpful sentence that follows this structure is:
He aha te kupu Māori mō …? / What is the Māori word for …?
E.g. He aha te kupu Māori mō diverse? (BTW it’s ‘kanorau’)
For your Kete
This week we will review the waiata, karakia and whakataukī that we learnt in “7. Classroom Instructions”.
Waiata & Karakia:
Wairua tapu tau mai rā
Wairua tapu mai runga
Uhia mai ngā taonga pa
homai tō aroha.
Wāhia, kia tika
Akona mai rā kia ū ki te pai
Horoia,
Kia mau tonu rā
Mōhou te tino kororia.
Spend time learning this waiata which is inviting the holy spirit to be with us.
You can listen to it here. Use your growing knowledge of te reo and the sign language actions in the youtube clip to understand the meaning of the waiata.
Like some of the other waiata we have learnt, this waiata can also be used as a karakia.
Whakataukī:
This week we review whakataukī that is foundational in our programme:
Hāpaitia te ara tika pūmau ai te rangatiratanga mō ngā uri whakatipu.
Foster the pathway of knowledge to strength, independence and growth for future generations.
Tuhia: Create a list of adjectives that are relevant to your subject area and write some more sentences.
Colours are appropriate adjectives to use in these sentences:
Mā – White
Whero – Red
Māwhero – Pink
Karaka – Orange
Kōwhai – Yellow
Kākāriki – Green
Mangu/Pango – Black
Kikorangi / Kahurangi – Blue
Waiporoporo – Purple
Parauri – Brown
Kiwikiwi – Grey
Possessive pronouns and these articles can also be used in this sentence structure:
(t)ēnei this / these (close to the speaker)
(t)ēnā that / those (close to the listener)
(t)ērā that / those (away from both the speaker and listener)
As with possessive pronouns (e.g. (t)ōku – my) removing the (t) makes these words plural.
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