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#81: What has happened to cause you to cry now?

He aha ____ i ____ ai? in the present
What has happened to cause this to happen now? — He aha... i... ai?
The structure He aha … i … ai? asks “why?” by referring to a cause in the past. The particle i marks that something happened earlier which led to the current action. Therefore the question can mean either “why did…?” or “why is…?” when the present situation results from something that happened previously.

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Vocabulary

ā • āe • ahau • āhua • ake • ake, ake, ake • āku • āna • ātaahua • atu • au • āwangawanga • e hoa mā • e tū • engari • haere mā raro • haunga • hiahia • hiainu • hiakai • hiamoe • hīkoi • hoa • hōhā • hōiho • hou • i • ia • iho • iti • ka • kaha • katoa • kau • keke • kēkē • ki • kia • Kia kaha! • kia ora • kino • ko wai • koe • koro • kōrua • koutou • kōwhai • kua •  • mai • māua • māuiui • ngenge • noho • nui • ō • oma • ora • pai • pango • pēhea? •  • rātau • rāua • rūma moe • taku • tama • tamaiti • tamariki • tana • tātou • tāua • tere • tino •  • wāhine • waiata • whaea • whero
← #80: Why did Mere drive to the supermarket?
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#82: Why will their dog eat our cat's food? →