ma, i and mai With Places

Level 2

Ma is for being at a place, i is for going to it, and mai ... mai is for coming from it.

How It Works

Three small words handle most place phrases.

Word	Job	Example
ma	at, in, on	Ke hana nei ʻo Keoni ma ka hale kūʻai.
i	to, at (more exact)	Ua hele au i Honolulu.
mai … mai	from	Ua hele mai ʻo Noelani mai Maui mai.

The Reference Grammar says that i is more definite and precise than ma, and that after a verb of going the place is generally marked with i, not ma. It gives a sentence in which ma and i appear together, one for the town and one for the island.

For “from”, the grammar shows the frame Mai Niʻihau mai ka moku, “The boat is from Niʻihau”. The first mai comes before the place and the second comes after the rest of the phrase.

Examples (5)

Noho ka makuahine ma Oʻahu.
Mother lives on Oʻahu.
Ma places the living at a place.
Ke hana nei ʻo Keoni ma ka hale kūʻai.
Keoni is working at the store.
Ma comes before ka hale kūʻai.
Ua hele au i Honolulu.
I went to Honolulu.
I points to the place of arrival.
Ua hele mai ʻo Noelani mai Maui mai.
Noelani came from Maui.
The two mai frame the place.
E hele ana ke keiki i ke kula.
The child is going to school.
I comes before ke kula after a verb of going.

Common Mistakes

Using ma for “to” after a verb of going.
Hele au ma Hilo.
Hele au i Hilo.
After a verb of going, the grammars use i for “to”, and ma is for where something is.

How It Connects

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

ma, i and mai With PlacesLevel 2

Learn This First

Ma and i both point to places, but they work in different sentences.

Saying Where: ma
Know ma with a place, because this entry compares ma with i and mai.
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

mamaii

Practice ma, i and mai With Places in Bubblegum

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