Editing Māori language (section)

=== Negation ===
Forming negative phrases in Māori is quite grammatically complex. There are several different negators which are used under various specific circumstances.{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=139}} The main negators are as follows:{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=139}}

{| class="wikitable"
!Negator
!Description
|-
|{{lang|mi|kāo}}
|Negative answer to a polar question.
|-
|{{lang|mi|kāore/kāhore/kāre}}
|The most common verbal negator.
|-
|{{lang|mi|kore}}
|A strong negator, equivalent to 'never'.
|-
|{{lang|mi|kaua e}}
|Negative imperatives; prohibitive 
|-
|{{lang|mi|ehara}}
|Negation for copulative phrases, topicalized and equative phrases
|}

{{lang|mi|Kīhai}} and {{lang|mi|tē}} are two negators which may be seen in specific dialects or older texts, but are not widely used.{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=139}} The most common negator is {{lang|mi|kāhore}}, which may occur in one of four forms, with the {{lang|mi|kāo}} form only being used in response to a question.{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=139}} Negative phrases, besides using {{lang|mi|kāore}}, also affect the form of verbal particles, as illustrated below.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Verbal particles{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=139}}
!
!Positive
!Negative
|-
!Past
|i
|i
|-
!Future
|ka
|i/e
|-
!Present
|kei te
|i te
|-
!Imperfect
| colspan="2" |e...ana
|-
!Past perfect
|kua
|kia
|}

The general usage of {{lang|mi|kāhore}} can be seen in the following examples. The subject is usually raised in negative phrases, although this is not obligatory.{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=141}} Each example of a negative phrase is presented with its analogue positive phrase for comparison.

{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
{{interlinear|indent=3|lang=mi|E haere ana tātou āpōpō|{{gcl|T/A|tense/aspect}} move {{gcl|T/A|tense/aspect}} 1PL.INCL tomorrow|'We are going tomorrow'{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=140}} }}
{{interlinear|indent=3|lang=mi|Kua tae mai he tāngata|{{gcl|T/A|tense/aspect}} arrive hither a people|'Some people have arrived'{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=140}} }}
{{Col-2}}
{{interlinear|lang=mi|'''Kāhore''' tātou e haere ana āpōpō|'''NEG''' 1PL.INCL {{gcl|T/A|tense/aspect}} move {{gcl|T/A|tense/aspect}} tomorrow|'We are not going tomorrow'{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=140}} }}
{{interlinear|lang=mi|'''Kāhore''' anō he tāngata kia tae mai|'''NEG''' yet a people SUBJ arrive hither|'Nobody has arrived yet'{{sfn|Bauer|Evans|Parker|2001|page=140}} }}
{{Col-end}}