hei

Serving as or for a Purpose

Level 5

Hei + role or compact purpose phrase presents an intended function.

How It Works

Hei can introduce a role noun or a compact purpose phrase. A role identifies what someone or something is to serve as. A purpose can contain an action base and a bare noun: hei horoi rīhi, “for washing dishes.” This compact pattern does not insert the ordinary active object marker i.

Compare He pouaka tēnei, “This is a box,” with Hei pouaka tēnei, “This is to serve as a box.” The second assigns an intended role. Hei does not change for the referent's number.

Some phrases allow related role and action readings, such as food and eating; the setting establishes the intended meaning. The separate future-time use of hei does not make it a universal replacement for he whenever English uses a future tense. The compact purpose pattern taught here is not a template for inserting every ordinary verbal-clause marker.

Examples (3)

  1. Hei pouaka tēnei.

    This is to serve as a box.

    The predicate assigns an intended role.

  2. Hei horoi rīhi tēnei paraihe.

    This brush is for washing dishes.

    Horoi rīhi is a compact purpose phrase.

  3. Hei whakamaroke kākahu tēnei taura.

    This line is for drying clothes.

    The predicate states the line's intended use.

How It Connects

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

heiLevel 5Serving as or for a Purpose

Learn This First

Introduce intended roles and compact purposes such as washing dishes. Teach the action-plus-bare-noun formation directly, without importing ordinary object marking or treating hei as a universal future replacement for he.