Agent Markers (e, nā, mā) in Māori

In Brief

Māori can identify the agent (the person or thing that carries out an action) in several ways. Use e before the agent in a passive clause: I patua te kurī e Hēmi “The dog was hit by Hēmi.” Use nā + agent + i + verb to highlight who performed a completed action, and mā + agent + e + verb to assign or predict responsibility for a future action.

Overview

English often puts the doer first: “Hēmi hit the dog.” It can also use a passive sentence, where the affected person or thing comes first: “The dog was hit by Hēmi.” Māori has a comparable passive agent phrase with e, but it also has common actor-emphatic patterns with nā and mā. These patterns put special focus on who did something or who is to do it.

This B1 topic builds directly on the Māori passive, or hanga whakaheke. You need to recognise a passive verb (a verb with a passive ending such as -a, -hia, or -tia) before you can reliably identify passive-agent e. By contrast, nā and mā normally introduce their own fronted phrases and do not make the following verb passive.

The three markers therefore overlap in meaning but are not interchangeable translations of English “by.” E belongs inside a passive clause. Nā looks back to an action presented as completed or established. Mā looks forward to an intended, expected, or assigned action.

How It Works

The three core patterns

Marker	Core structure	Main job	Natural English sense
e	tense/aspect + passive verb + patient + e + agent	Names the doer in a passive clause	“by …”
nā	Nā + agent + i + verb (+ object)	Highlights the agent of a completed action	“It was … who did it”; “… did it”
mā	Mā + agent + e + verb (+ object)	Highlights or assigns a future agent	“… will do it”; “it is for … to do”

A patient is the person or thing affected by an action. In I patua te kurī e Hēmi, te kurī is the patient and Hēmi is the agent.

1. E with a passive verb

The basic passive pattern is:

tense/aspect marker + passive verb + patient + e + agent

• I patua te kurī e Hēmi. — “The dog was hit by Hēmi.”
• Kua tuhia te reta e Mere. — “The letter has been written by Mere.”
• Ka horoia ngā pereti e ngā tamariki. — “The plates will be washed by the children.”

The passive ending is essential. Compare:

• I patu a Hēmi i te kurī. — “Hēmi hit the dog.” (active)
• I patua te kurī e Hēmi. — “The dog was hit by Hēmi.” (passive)

In the passive version, patua is the passive form of patu. The affected noun phrase, te kurī, is no longer introduced by active object marker i. The agent phrase is e Hēmi.

The patient can be understood rather than spoken when context supplies it:

• I patua e te kaiako. — “It was hit by the teacher.”

Here, the listener must already know what was hit. Because Māori e has several other grammatical jobs, the passive verb and the surrounding sentence—not e alone—identify this as an agent phrase.

2. Nā for a completed action and its agent

The core pattern is:

Nā + agent + i + active verb (+ object)

• Nā Hēmi i mahi. — “Hēmi did it” or, with emphasis, “It was Hēmi who did it.”
• Nā te hau i whiu te pōtae. — “It was the wind that blew the hat away.”
• Nā wai i tunu te kai? — “Who cooked the food?”

Although English may translate this with a passive—“It was done by Hēmi”—the Māori verb after i is normally active in form. The construction is better understood as agent focus: it presents the agent first as the important or newly identified information.

Use nā wai to ask who was responsible for a completed action. The answer naturally repeats the same frame:

• Nā wai i whakatuwhera te kūaha? — “Who opened the door?”
• Nā Rangi i whakatuwhera. — “Rangi did.”

3. Mā for a future, intended, or assigned agent

The core pattern is:

Mā + agent + e + active verb (+ object)

• Mā wai e mahi? — “Who will do it?” or “Who is to do it?”
• Mā Hine e tuhi te reta. — “Hine will write the letter.”
• Māku e horoi ngā pereti. — “I’ll wash the plates.”

This pattern commonly allocates a task, accepts responsibility, or identifies the person expected to act. The e before the verb is a preverbal marker in this future-oriented construction; it is not passive-agent e. The verb remains active: tuhi, not tuhia; horoi, not horoia.

With pronouns, mā and nā often appear in combined forms. Useful forms include:

Meaning	Completed agent	Future/intended agent
I / me	nāku	māku
you (one person)	nāu	māu
him / her	nāna	māna
who	nā wai	mā wai

These forms belong to the a-category possessive system. At this level, learn them as whole expressions in the agent patterns rather than trying to build them from English pronouns word by word.

Choosing the pattern

Ask two questions:

1. Is the clause passive, with a passive verb? Use e + agent.
2. Is the agent itself being highlighted? Use nā for an established/completed action and mā for a future, intended, or assigned action.

Compare the viewpoints:

• I tunua te kai e Pita. — “The food was cooked by Pita.” The food is presented as the affected participant.
• Nā Pita i tunu te kai. — “Pita was the one who cooked the food.” Pita’s identity or responsibility is highlighted.
• Mā Pita e tunu te kai. — “Pita will cook the food / Pita is to cook the food.” Pita has the future task.

Examples in Context

Māori	English	Note
I patua te kurī e Hēmi.	The dog was hit by Hēmi.	Passive verb patua + e agent
I kainga ngā āporo e ngā tamariki.	The apples were eaten by the children.	Plural agent after e
Kua tuhia te īmēra e Mere.	The email has been written by Mere.	Completed passive action
Ka whakatikaina te pahikara e tōku pāpā.	The bicycle will be repaired by my father.	Future passive clause
I patua e te kaiako.	It was hit by the teacher.	Patient understood from context
Nā Hēmi i mahi.	Hēmi did it.	Completed-action agent focus
Nā te hau i whiu te pōtae.	The wind blew the hat away.	A natural force is the agent
Nā wai i tuhi tēnei waiata?	Who wrote this song?	Question about a completed action
Nāku i whakarite te hui.	I organised the meeting.	Speaker claims or identifies responsibility
Mā wai e mahi?	Who will do it?	Future responsibility question
Māku e horoi ngā pereti.	I’ll wash the plates.	Speaker volunteers
Mā Hine e kawe ngā tamariki ki te kura.	Hine will take the children to school.	Assigned or expected agent
Māna e kōrero ki te kaiwhakahaere.	He or she will speak to the manager.	Third-person future agent
Mā te kaiako e whakamārama te mahi.	The teacher will explain the task.	Full noun phrase after mā

Common Mistakes

Using e after an active verb

• Wrong: I patu te kurī e Hēmi.
• Right: I patua te kurī e Hēmi.
• Why: Agent e belongs with a passive verb. Patu is active; patua is its passive form here.

Treating nā as ordinary English “by”

• Wrong: Nā Hēmi i patua te kurī when you simply mean “The dog was hit by Hēmi.”
• Right: I patua te kurī e Hēmi.
• Why: The neutral passive uses e. Nā Hēmi i patu te kurī instead highlights Hēmi as the one who performed the completed action.

Making the verb passive after nā

• Wrong: Nā Mere i tuhia te reta.
• Right: Nā Mere i tuhi te reta.
• Why: In the core actor-emphatic pattern, i introduces an active verb. Do not copy the passive ending from I tuhia te reta e Mere.

Confusing the two uses of e

• Wrong: Assuming the e in Mā Pita e tunu te kai means “by Pita.”
• Right: Read the structure as Mā Pita (future agent) + e tunu (future-oriented verb phrase).
• Why: Passive-agent e comes before the agent. Here e comes before the verb, which remains active.

Using nā for an uncompleted task

• Wrong: Nāku i horoi ngā pereti āpōpō for “I’ll wash the plates tomorrow.”
• Right: Māku e horoi ngā pereti āpōpō.
• Why: Mā suits intended or future responsibility; nā presents an action as completed or established.

Usage Notes

English translation can hide the difference between grammar and viewpoint. Both I tunua te kai e Pita and Nā Pita i tunu te kai may be rendered with “Pita cooked the food,” but they answer different conversational needs. The first fits a discussion of what happened to the food; the second fits a question about who cooked it.

An agent phrase with e is not always required. If the doer is unknown, obvious, or unimportant, a passive clause can omit it: Kua katia te toa “The shop has been closed.” Add e + agent only when identifying the doer matters.

Nā can carry a sense of attribution or responsibility depending on context: the speaker may be giving credit, identifying a cause, or assigning blame. Mā can sound like a prediction, an offer, or an allocation of duty. Tone and context decide whether Māku e mahi means a neutral “I will do it” or the more purposeful “Let me do it / I’ll take care of it.”

Macrons matter in writing. Nā and mā have long vowels; write the macrons consistently. They distinguish these forms visually and reflect their pronunciation.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The forms nā and mā are related to the wider Māori a-category possession system. In other settings, they can express source, provision, or something associated with a person, not only grammatical agency. For example, a phrase beginning with mā may concern something intended for someone. Do not label every occurrence of nā or mā as an agent marker automatically; check whether a verb phrase follows and whether the construction identifies who did or will do the action.

Negation does not always preserve the shape of an affirmative pattern word for word. Māori negative constructions have their own syntax, and tense, person, and possession interact with that syntax. Until you have studied the relevant negative patterns, it is safer to master affirmative pairs such as Nāku i mahi and Māku e mahi rather than placing a general negative word into them by analogy with English.

Natural Māori discourse also uses passive clauses more broadly than English does. An English translation may therefore be active even when the Māori source is grammatically passive. Identify the Māori structure from the passive verb and e phrase, not from whether the smooth English translation contains “was” and “by.”

Finally, e is highly multifunctional: it can occur before verbs in several constructions and before names in direct address. Position and clause structure are decisive. In I tuhia te reta e Mere, it introduces the agent Mere; in Mā Mere e tuhi te reta, the later e introduces the verb phrase tuhi te reta.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-way sets. Take one event and say it three ways: I tunua te kai e Ana; Nā Ana i tunu te kai; Mā Ana e tunu te kai. Explain aloud whether you are focusing on the patient, the completed agent, or future responsibility.
2. Ask and answer responsibility questions. Pair Nā wai i …? with Nāku/Nāna i …, then pair Mā wai e …? with Māku/Māna e …. This makes the tense contrast automatic.
3. Mark the verb before translating. When reading, underline passive endings first. Then circle e, nā, or mā and identify what follows each marker. This prevents English word order from controlling your analysis.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Passive Voice — learn how passive verb forms place the affected participant at the centre of the clause before adding an e agent phrase.