nā wai i
Asking Who Did It
Start with nā wai and put i before the verb base.
How It Works
Use Nā wai i + verb + affected participant?, or Nā wai + affected participant + i + verb?. Keep wai directly after nā, without personal a. The verb stays unsuffixed; the affected phrase does not take ordinary object-marking i.
A full answer replaces wai with an actor: Nā Hemi i hanga te pouaka, “Hemi was the one who made the box.” If the action is understood, Nā Hemi or Nāna can answer briefly.
Compare Nā wai te pene?, “Whose is the pen?” Without a verbal phrase, this asks ownership. The action construction asks who acted. It does not replace identity questions, questions about states, or passive-agent questions with e wai.
Examples (3)
- Nā wai i hanga te pouaka?
Who made the box?
The question seeks the responsible actor.
- Nā wai ngā kākano i whakatō?
Who planted the seeds?
The affected participant precedes i.
- Nā wai i tunu te taro?
Who baked the bread?
The unsuffixed verb names the earlier action.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Place wai directly after nā to ask who performed the earlier action. Practice full and short actor answers, and use the presence of a verbal phrase to distinguish the question from asking whose an item is.
- nā ... iAn Actor Responsible for a Past Event
Its actor position and two affected-participant placements supply the question structure and the corresponding full answer.
Level 3 - wai / ahaAsking Who and What
Wai identifies the missing information as a person, while the surrounding nā ... i frame determines that person's responsibility.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- mā wai eAsking Who Will Do It
Asks about prospective responsibility.
Level 3 - nā / nō ownershipAsking Whose It Is
Explains ownership questions without an action phrase.
Level 2 - ko waiIdentifying a Person
Asks identity and supports other actor-question patterns.
Level 4 - e + passive agentWho Performs a Passive Action
Marks the actor in a passive, including e wai questions.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
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