2. NO TENSE
• With painu sentences, no m ka painu (tense markers such as theā
ones described on the following slides - ua, ke--nei, e---ana)
typically indicate something that is habitual, such as "The baby
sleeps with me," or "He cries at church." I have noted the implied
mana'o in parentheses.
• Hiamoe ka p p me a'u. The baby sleeps with me.ē ē (on a regular basis)
• U `o ia i ka halepule. He cries at church. (each time we go)ē
• `Aka`aka `o Pono i Elmo. Pono laughs at Elmo. (whenever heā
sees/plays with Elmo)
• Hele au i Kona. I go to Kona. (all the time, as on a daily
or weekly basis)
• Hau`oli ke keiki. The child is happy (His/her usual
temperament)
Verb/Adjective + Subject
3. PAST TENSE
UA Verb/Adjective + Subject
• Past tense sentences typically mark an action that has been completed. In
English, they are usually identified with --ed, as in "They bathed," or
"Pono smiled." In Hawaiian, they are identified with the tense marker Ua.
-Ua `au`au l kou. They bathed.ā
-Ua mino`aka `o Pono. Pono smiled.
-Ua wela `o Kona. Kona was hot.
• Ua doesn't always have to translate as past tense. It is frequently used with
'a'ano (descriptive) type words to indicate both past and present conditions.
-Ua nani ka hale. The house was beautiful.
The house is beautiful (It's complete. It's not getting
any more beautiful).
4. PRESENT TENSE
KE Verb/Adjective NEI + Subject
• Present tense sentences mark an action as happening
now or at this time. In English, they are usually
identified with -----ing, as in "They are swimming,"
"Pono is eating," etc. In Hawaiian, they are identified
with the tense markers Ke --- nei.
-Ke `au`au nei l kou. They are swimming (now).ā
-Ke `ai nei `o Pono. Pono is eating (now).
-Ke hau`oli nei `o ia. He/she is getting happy.
5. FUTURE TENSE (going to)
E Verb/Adjective ANA + Subject
• Future tense sentences mark an action that is going to happen. In English,
they are usually identified with "going to," as in "They are going to swim,"
"Pono is going to eat," etc. In Hawaiian they are identified with the tense
markers E --- ana.
-E `au`au ana l kou. They are going to swim.ā
-E `ai ana `o Pono. Pono is going to eat.
-E nui ana k ia ` lio.ē ī This dog is going to be big.
-E hele ana `o Kimo. Kimo is going to go.
• Be careful when translating this type of sentence. The idea of “going to” or
“gonna” is included in the tense marker (e---ana). Thus, you do not have to
translate ‘going’ to indicate a future time with the word “hele” (go) unless
“go” is the action. Instead, use the tense markers “e----ana.”
6. FUTURE TENSE (will)
E Verb/Adjective + Subject
• This type of future tense sentences (e painu) typically translate as
"will" which is indeed future, but it does not convey a commitment
to the time frame (as in e--ana sentences). Basically, it
suggests/conveys that something will be or can be done/completed,
without specifying when. Because these sentences do not convey a
commitment to a time frame, they are typically referred to as "no
tense." Just note the difference in this type of "no tense" sentence
and the habitual type of "no tense" sentences.
-E hele au i Kona. I will go to Kona (sometime in the future)
-E k kua l kou i Kimo. They (3+) will help Kimo (they'll be thereō ā ā
to help out, but not sure exactly when/at what time)
7. E ____ ANA vs. E ____
• Note the following differences in meaning between the
two types of future tense sentences:
-E kelepona ana wau i `oe.ā
I am going to call you.
*This is more likely to be used when referring to a
specific time frame (such as ...on Wednesday
.....tomorrow).
-E kelepona wau i `oe.ā
I will call you.
*This is typical for when you see someone and say "Yeah,
I'll give you a call
8. N LA`ANA (ka`i + meme`a)Ā
• Inu ka manu. The bird drinks.
• Ua inu ka manu. The bird drank.
• Ke inu nei ka manu. The bird is drinking.
• E inu ana ka manu. The bird is going to drink.
• Inu ka manu i ka wai. The bird drinks (the) water.
• Ua inu ka manu i ka wai. The bird drank (the) water.
• Ke inu nei ka manu i ka wai. The bird is drinking
(the) water.
• E inu ana ka manu i ka wai. The bird is going to
drink (the) water.
9. N LA`ANA (I`oa)Ā
• H meni `o Pua.ī Pua sings.
• Ua h meni `o Pua.ī Pua sang.
• Ke h meni nei `o Pua.ī Pua is singing.
• E h meni ana `o Pua.ī Pua is going to sing.
• H meni `o Pua i ka halepule.ī Pua sings at church.
• Ua h meni `o Pua i ka halepule.ī Pua sang at
church.
• Ke h meni nei `o Pua i ka halepule.ī Pua is singing at
church.
• E h meni ana `o Pua i ka halepule.ī Pua is going to
sing at church.
10. N LA`ANA (Papani)Ā
• Kalaiwa wau. I drive.
• Ua kalaiwa wau. I drove.
• Ke kalaiwa nei wau. I am driving.
• E kalaiwa ana wau. I am going to drive.
• Kalaiwa wau i kona ka`a. I drive her car.
• Ua kalaiwa wau i kona ka`a. I drove her car.
• Ke kalaiwa nei wau i kona ka`a. I am driving her
car.
• E kalaiwa ana wau i kona ka`a. I am going to
drive her car.
11. K HULUĀ
• You may add a k hulu (adjective) to the po`o of theā
sentence as shown below:
• Hiamoe maika`i `o ia ma ko`u pela moe.
She sleeps well on my bed.
• Inu pia `o Kainoa.
Kainoa drinks beer.
• Holo ` w w `o Keaka ma ka p ka.ā ī ī ā
Keaka runs quickly at the park.
• Noho m lie ka haum na.ā ā
The student sits nicely.
15. `AWE
• The pepeke painu does not need an `awe. As a
reminder, an `awe is the part of the sentence that
begins with an `ami (me, ma, i) and indicates
when, where, or with whom someone or
something is. You may, however, choose to add
an `awe to the sentence for further description.
• Hana kou p p me ko`u m m .ā ā ā ā
Your dad works with my mom.
• E hiamoe ana au i kou pela moe.
I am going to sleep on your bed.
