Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook, Revised Edition

Lesona 7. Adjectives

333333333333333  From the vocabulary and exercises studied so far, we have learnt several nouns. We will now study adjectives, the words which describe the nouns. Adjectives Simple rule: Adjectives follow the nouns that they qualify or describe. for example: tama lelei (boy) (good) i.e., noun + adjective fale + tele ‘a‘ai + tele (house) + (big) (city) + (big) fale + lāpotopoto motu + ‘i saute (house) + (round) (island) + (south) EXAMPLES 1. ‘O le fale tele. — The big house. 2. ‘O le ‘a‘ai tele. — The big city. 3. ‘O le falaoa fou. — The fresh bread. 4. ‘O le teine Sāmoa. — The Sāmoan girl. 5. ‘O le pule ā‘oga. — The school principal. Say aloud the following: ‘Aukilani ‘O ‘Aukilani lenei. ‘O ‘Aukilani ‘o se ‘a‘ai tele. E iai fale tetele i ‘Aukilani. E iai ‘Aukilani i le Motu i Mātū. This is Auckland. Auckland is a big city. Auckland has big buildings. Auckland is in the North Island. LESoNA 7 Adjectives ≥ ‘Aukilani/Auckland, New Zealand Lesona   Apia ‘O Apia lenei. ‘O Apia ‘o se ‘a‘ai mānaia o Sāmoa. E iai Apia i le motu o ‘Upolu i Sāmoa. ‘O Apia ‘o le laumua o Sāmoa. E tū Apia i le itū i mātū o ‘Upolu. This is Apia. Apia is a warm friendly city. Apia is on the island of ‘Upolu in Sāmoa. Apia is the capital of Sāmoa. Apia stands on the northern part of ‘Upolu. Los Angeles ‘O Los Angeles lenei. ‘O Los Angeles ‘o se ‘a‘ai tele i le Iunaite Setete o ‘Amerika. E iai fo‘i fale tetele i Los Angeles. This is Los Angeles. Los Angeles is a big city in the United States of America. Los Angeles also has big buildings. Sini ‘O Sini lenei. ‘O Sini fo‘i ‘o se ‘a‘ai tele i ‘Ausetālia. E iai fo‘i fale tetele i Sini. This is Sydney. Sydney is also a big city in Australia. There are also big buildings in Sydney. Apia, the capital of Sāmoa Los Angeles Sini/Sydney 0 Gagana Sāmoa Questions and answers / Fesili ma tali (A) ‘O fea lenei? Where’s this? (E) ‘O ‘Aukilani. (It’s) Auckland. (A) ‘O se ‘a‘ai tele ‘Aukilani? Is Auckland a big city? (E) ‘Ioe. Yes. (A) E iai ni fale tetele i ‘Aukilani? Are there big buildings in Auckland? (E) ‘Ioe. Yes. EXERCISE 26 Study this vocabulary Nouns Adjectives tama boy fiafia happy va‘alele aeroplane lāpo‘a big/large solofanua horse saosaoa fast tamaitiiti child ulavale troublesome/nuisance tusi book ‘ena‘ena brown Use this information to write the correct Sāmoan translation for the following 1. fast horse 2. troublesome boy 3. brown book 4. big aeroplane 5. happy boy 6. brown horse 7. troublesome child 8. fast aeroplane 9. big child 10. big book EXERCISE 27 Complete the sentence with a suitable adjective from the vocabulary 1. ‘O le tusi ____________________ (colour) The...book. 2. ‘O le va‘alele ____________________ (speed) The...aeroplane. 3. ‘O le solofanua ____________________ (size) The...horse. 4. ‘O le tama ____________________ (feeling; mood) The...boy. 5. ‘O le tamaitiiti ____________________ (mood; feeling) The...child. ≥ Lesona   Adjectives — plural form Adjectives agree in number with the nouns they qualify. for example: ‘O le fale tele (singular) ‘O fale tetele (plural) The plural form of the adjective must always be used with a plural noun. EXAMPLES Singular Plural lāpo‘a big lāpopo‘a tele many tetele telē large/huge tetelē ulavale troublesome ulāvavale la‘itiiti small lāiti poto clever popoto valea stupid vālelea maualuga high maualuluga Squeezing coconut cream for cooking. Samoan Studies, University of Hawai‘i ...