Ngā Tohutohu
Taea, the passive form of tae, is used to say something is possible or someone has the ability to do something. When taea is used this way, it has a special sentence pattern peculiar to itself. Look carefully at the examples and observe the word order of the different elements of the sentence. Notice how the taea pattern may be used with any appropriate verbal markers (i.e ka, kua, i, e … ana, etc).
Hei tauira:
| Ka taea e au te tuhi. |
I am able to write. |
| I taea e tōku pāpā tērā taiapa te peke. |
My father was able to jump that fence. |
| Kua taea e rātou te pātai te whakautu. |
They have been able to answer the question. |
| E taea ana e tō tātou kaiako tā tātou waiata te tīmata. |
Our teacher is able to start our song. |
This sentence pattern has features in common with both the stative sentence pattern and the passive sentence which you will learn about in other exercises. However, it needs to be stressed that this pattern is only used with taea and no other verb. It may be difficult to master initially but it is necessary to become familiar with it as it is so frequently used in spoken and written Māori. Here are some more examples to help you become familiar with the taea sentence pattern and to illustrate the different word orders that are possible using this sentence pattern.
Hei tauira:
| Ka taea e ia te pukapuka te pānui. |
He is able to read the book. |
| Ka taea te pukapuka e ia te pānui. |
He is able to read the book. |
| Ka taea te pānui e ia te pukapuka. |
He is able to read the book. |
| Ka taea te pānui te pukapuka e ia. |
He is able to read the book. |
The last three parts of the structure can be moved around. However, the word order used in the first example above is the most usual. If the agent or patient is a personal pronoun (ia, rāua, etc), then it will tend to come early in the sentence.
Hei tauira:
Ka taea au e koe te āwhina? Are you able to help me?
Further explanations and examples: Te Kākano p. 7
Whakakīa ngā āputa kia rite ai te rerenga Māori ki te rerenga Ingarihi.
