Locatives

A locative phrase describes the location of something in place or time. 

Kei roto ngā rākau i te wao.
There are trees in the forest.

The basic formula for a locative phrase is

Preposition + location/locative noun + subject + i + place.

In the above example:

• Preposition = Kei (present tense)
• Locative noun = roto (in)
• Subject = ngā rākau (the trees)
• Preposition = i
• Place= wao (forest).

As well as 'Kei', there are two other locative tense markers - 'I' (past) and 'Hei' (future).

Here is a list of some locative nouns.

To ask a question about location, you can typically place the word hea in the place that the locative noun would normally occur, for example,

Kei hea te waka? (Where is the waka?)
Kei tātahi te waka. (The waka is at the beach.)