What is a rereāhua? A rereāhua is a sentence that describes an someone or something. The basic reremahi structure is made up of 3 main parts which are;
He = Most rereāhua will start with this kupu
Tūāhua = Adjective
Aronga = Subject (the person or thing you are describing)
The basic action phrase looks look this:
He + Tūāhua + Aronga
He + Adjective + Subject (the person or thing you are describing)
Lets look at some examples using the tūāhua ātaahua or beautiful with different subject.
He ātaahua a Mere Mere is beautiful
He ātaahua a Hone Hone is beautiful
He ātaahua ia He/She is beautiful
He ātaahua koutou You (3+) are beautiful
He ātaahua te kōtiro The girl is beautiful
He ātaahua ngā kōtiro The girls are beautiful
As explained above most rereāhua start with the kupu he. As you can see in the picture to the left it translates to a, an, or some (when followed by a noun), but in rereāhua it doesn't have a direct translation. The kupu he when used in rereāhua is used to describe someone or something. We know that it is a rereāhua if the word following the kupu he is a tūāhua or adjective. IMPORTANT note, when rereāhua start with he it tells us that it is almost permanent.
Here is a video from te reo Māori language expert Hemi Kelly explaining in more detail and giving examples of rereāhua using different subjects.
Tūāhua or adjectives are words that describe something or someone. Like tūmahi there are different types of tūāhua, in this section we look at tūāhua and tūāhua oti.
Tūāhua describe someone or something
Tūāhua oti describe the state someone or something is in
The aronga or subject is the person or thing that is being describe in a rereāhua. Just like a reremahi there are different kinds of aronga too. The three main aronga we will be using are;
Tūingoa = nouns
Ingoa = names
Tūkapi = pronouns
REMEMBER!!!
Remember when using a tūingoa te kupu te or ngā must come before the noun.
REMEMBER!!!
Remember when using ingoa or names the kupu a must come before the name
REMEMBER!!!
Remember when using tūkapi it follows the tūāhua. No kupu come between the tūāhua and tūkapi.
Rereāhua can also start with all the tense markers that are used in the reremahi structure. The different between using a tense marker and the word he, is that it shows the state or feeling can change. When starting with he it tells us that the state is almost permanent for example 'He whero te waka' or 'the car is red' this tell us the car will always be red (unless painted). When starting with a tense marker it tells us the state of something at that time (which could change later) for example 'Kei te makariri ahau' or 'I am cold' which tells us they are cold right now but later on they might be warm (depending on the weather).
Here are some examples to help you get your head around it.
Kei te wera ahau I am hot
E makariri ana i ngā ata It is cold in the mornings
Kua whero te kanohi o te kōtira The girls face has become red (the girl has blushed)
I pai te kemu inapō It was a good game last night
Ka wera te rangi āpōpō It will be hot tomorrow