Inanahi means: Yesterday.
Inanahi (yesterday) and ināianei (now) are interesting because they are the equivalent of “i nanahi” or “i nāianei” but this optional form incorporates the particle “i” (which relates to past time) into the base. Either form can be used, although the equivalent future time kupu āpōpō (tomorrow), ākuanei (presently, not long after the present) and āwhea (when, future tense) are now only used as single words rather than separating “ā” (which relates to future time). Sources differ on whether the particle for future time ‘ā’ has a long or short vowel and it’s worth noting that this preposition doesn’t have an equivalent spatial meaning. Other preposition used for time include “nō” (can be used for past instead of i), “hei” (used for future statements in some dialects instead of “ā”, used in others before words such as “āpōpō”), “kei” (used for present and sometimes future). When “nō” is used instead of “i” it can be similarly merged into “nōnanahi” and “nōnāianei”.
Examples of using these particles on their own include:
When talking about time, te reo Māori tends to use the same prepositions as when talking about location in space. You also see locative nouns and directional particles which have spatial meanings being used in a temporal sense as well. So you might have:
“Mai” can also be used to mean “from” in time statements: