The present tense is indicated by using the words kei te at the start of the sentence. This can be used with an adjective (good, happy, sad, well...) to say: "at the moment, I am good", etc.
Kei te pai ahau. (or Kei te pai au.)
At the moment, I am good.Kei te pai koe?
At the moment, are you well?Kei te ora ia.
At the moment, he or she is well.
Also, note the words ahau, au, koe and ia, meaning "I", "you" and "he/she". The words ahau and au are interchangeable and mean the same thing, and ia can either refer to a male or female.
Once you know how to say hello and goodbye, you probably want to be able to say how you are. And one of the simplest sentences you can say is: "I am good".
There are many different ways to be and many ways to express how you are.
A very common response to kei te peahea koe? is:
Kei te ngenge ahau.
I am tired.
We say this, in te reo Māori with the sentence:
Kei te pai ahau.
I am good.
Kei te means "at the moment". This is called a tense marker and indicates when somethng is happening.
The word pai means "good". You may have heard this when people say ka pai! ("It's good!)
The word ahau means "me", or "I".
So kei te pai ahau means: "at the moment, good I am".
You can also say:
Kei te pai au.
I am good.
The words au and ahau mean the same thing and you can use either one.
Here are some common adjectives:
nui – big, large
iti – small, little
hou – new
tere – fast
pai – good
kino – bad
ātaahua – beautiful
kaha – strong
wera – hot
roa – long
poto – short
haunga – smelly