Telling Someone Not To

Level 1

Mai means “do not”. Put it where e would go.

How It Works

Mai at the start of a command means “do not”. It stands where e would stand, so there is no e:

Command	Meaning
Mai hele.	Do not go.
Mai uwē ʻoe.	Do not cry.

Mai has other jobs. After a verb it means “toward me”, as in E hele mai. The Reference Grammar says ʻaʻole negates most verb phrases but not a command. Use mai for that.

Examples (5)

Mai hele.
Do not go.
Mai replaces e.
Mai uwē ʻoe.
Do not cry.
A pronoun can follow.
Mai ʻai i ka palaoa.
Do not eat the bread.
The object takes i.
Mai kākau ma ke pākaukau.
Do not write on the table.
A place follows the verb. Pākaukau takes ke.
Mai holo ma ka lumi.
Do not run in the room.
The command is about one place.

Common Mistakes

Using ʻaʻole for a command.
ʻAʻole hele ʻoe!
Mai hele ʻoe!
ʻAʻole does not negate a command.

How It Connects

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

Telling Someone Not ToLevel 1

Learn This First

Telling someone not to do something uses mai in place of e.

Telling Someone to Do Something
Know the e command, because mai replaces e to say “do not”.
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

mai: Come, Do Not and FromLevel 3

Words in This Pattern

mai

Practice Telling Someone Not To in Bubblegum

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