Before and After: ma mua o, ma hope o

Level 3

Ma mua o and ma hope o say “before” and “after”, or “in front of” and “behind”.

How It Works

PhraseTimePlace
ma mua obeforein front of
ma hope oafterbehind

The Reference Grammar gives ma mua o ka ʻaina kakahiaka “before breakfast” and ma hope o kaʻu hana “after my work”. The word o links the phrase to the thing, as in the last entry. Both words also show up in many other phrases, so learn them first in these two.

To tell time from place, look at the thing after o. An event such as school or dinner points to time. A house or a person points to place.

Examples (4)

  1. Ke kuke nei koʻu makuahine ma mua o ka ʻaina ahiahi.

    My mother is cooking before dinner.

    Ma mua o tells about time.

  2. Ke hana nei au ma ka hale kūʻai ma hope o ke kula.

    I work at the store after school.

    Ma hope o tells about time.

  3. Aia ke kaʻa ma mua o ka hale.

    The car is in front of the house.

    Ma mua o tells about place.

  4. Ke kū nei ke keiki ma hope o kona makuahine.

    The child is standing behind his or her mother.

    Ma hope o tells about place.

Common Mistakes

  • The word o is missing after the time phrase.

    Ma hope ke kula, ke hana nei au.
    Ma hope o ke kula, ke hana nei au.

    The phrase needs o before the event.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Before and After: ma mua o, ma hope oLevel 3

Learn This First

These phrases say before and after and follow the same pattern as above and below.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

muahopemao