he + descriptive phrase

Describing What Someone Is

Level 1

A he predicate describes what kind of person or thing the subject is.

How It Works

In He tangata pai ia, the predicate describes one person as a good person. Pai follows the noun tangata; ia is the subject.

A description answers what someone or something is like or what class it belongs to. A naming statement such as Ko Mere tōku ingoa uses a different frame. Do not add an English copula or mechanically exchange he and ko.

Examples (3)

  1. He tangata pai ia.

    They are a good person (one person).

  2. He kaiako hou a Mere.

    Mere is a new teacher.

  3. He whare tawhito tēnei.

    This is an old house.

How It Connects

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

he + descriptive phraseLevel 1Describing What Someone Is

Learn This First

Use an expanded he predicate to classify or describe its subject, as in He tangata pai ia. Introduce the contrast with naming an identity without treating he and ko as interchangeable equivalents of English “is.”

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.