nā ... i

An Actor Responsible for a Past Event

Level 3

Use nā + actor + i + verb base, with an unmarked affected participant.

How It Works

Form nā + actor + i + verb + affected participant, or put the affected participant before i. Use the verb base without a passive suffix. The affected phrase lacks ordinary object-marking i; the i before the verb marks the earlier action.

Singular pronouns combine as nāku, nāu, nāna. Names follow directly, and non-singular pronouns remain separate, as in nā kōrua. The verb does not change for person or number.

Compare I tunu a Hana i te hupa, “Hana cooked the soup,” with Nā Hana i tunu te hupa, “Hana was the one who cooked the soup.” The latter foregrounds the actor. Teach this pattern with suitable actions affecting another participant. It is not a general replacement for intransitive clauses or central experience predicates such as knowing and wanting.

Examples (3)

  1. Nā Hana i tunu te hupa.

    Hana was the one who cooked the soup.

    The name follows nā directly.

  2. Nāku te matapihi i whakatuwhera.

    I was the one who opened the window.

    The affected participant precedes i and the verb.

  3. Nā ngā tamariki i kohi ngā anga.

    The children were the ones who collected the shells.

    The plural actor does not change the verb.

How It Connects

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

nā ... iLevel 3An Actor Responsible for a Past Event

Learn This First

Introduce responsibility by comparing ordinary past reporting with nā plus an actor. Teach the unsuffixed verb, combined singular actor forms and both accepted positions of the affected phrase within this construction.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.