ki te + verb complement

An Action After Wanting or Learning

Level 3

E hiahia ana au ki te haere means “I want to go.”

How It Works

After suitable predicates such as hiahia, pīrangi and ako, use ki te followed by an action base. The main predicate carries tense or aspect; the complement has no separate ordinary tense particle or infinitive ending. Objects and destinations retain their marking. In these wanting and learning patterns, the main subject is the understood actor. Other governing verbs can identify that actor differently.

Compare Kei te pīrangi a Ani ki te haere, “Ani wants to go,” with Kei te pīrangi a Ani kia haere a Hemi, “Ani wants Hemi to go.” A kia clause can state its subject and support a passive. Use active actions in the ki te pattern taught here. State verbs do not all behave alike in this complement; learn their established constructions instead of extending the pattern mechanically. Conditional ki te instead means “if.”

Examples (3)

  1. E hiahia ana au ki te tunu i te hupa.

    I want to cook the soup.

    The speaker is the understood actor of tunu; i marks the object.

  2. Kei te pīrangi a Miri ki te haere ki te moana.

    Miri wants to go to the sea.

    The first ki te introduces an action; the second introduces its destination.

  3. Kei te ako ngā tamariki ki te kauhoe.

    The children are learning to swim.

    The complement names the skill being learned.

How It Connects

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

ki te + verb complementLevel 3An Action After Wanting or Learning

Learn This First

Introduce ki te plus an active action after suitable wanting or learning predicates. In these patterns the main subject supplies the understood actor; learn the governing construction rather than extending that relationship to every verb.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.