Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook, Revised Edition

Lesona 4. Articles

333333333333333  The words “the” and “a” are articles. In Samoan “le” and “se” are their equivalents and they go with nouns as in the following: ‘O le fale — the house ‘O se peni — a pen ‘O is a particle that is used in front of nouns or pronouns. The general rule is that if a noun comes at the beginning of a sentence, ‘o must be used before the noun. Nouns by themselves (i.e., in isolation) have ‘o in front of them. [See Lesona 11 as well.] le is the definite article singular (the) se is the indefinite article singular (a) Definite article — Le “Le” is used whenever the noun is definite in the mind of the speaker. A point to note is that even though English would use the indefinite article “a” in some definite situations, Samoan uses the definite “le” form. The object referred to in the Samoan mind is definite—it is the one referred to, and “le” signals/reflects this. for example: ‘O le povi. — It’s a cow. Singular and plural nouns in Samoan 1. A singular noun has an article in front of it. for example: ‘O le lā‘au — the tree ‘O se ‘ato — a basket 2. A plural noun is formed in two ways. (a) by the absence of a definite article for example: ‘O lā‘au — the trees LESONA 4 Articles 0 Gagana Sāmoa (b) substituting the indefinite article ‘se’ with its plural form ‘ni’ for example: ‘O se ta‘avale — it is a car (singular) ‘O ni ta‘avale — they are cars (plural) Samoan nouns do not change form in moving from singular to plural. However, there are exceptions: Exceptions lo‘omatua/lo‘omātutua — old woman/old women ‘olomatua/‘olomātutua — old woman/old women matua/mātua — parent/parents tamaitiiti/tamaiti — child/children tamāloa/tamāloloa — man/men teineitiiti/teineiti — little girl/little girls taule‘ale‘a/tāulele‘a — untitled man/untitled men to‘alua/ta‘ito‘alua — spouse/spouses toea‘ina/toea‘i‘ina — old man/old men tuafafine/tuafāfine — male’s sister/males’ sisters Expression of the indefinite — use se “Se” replaces “le” when the indefinite is to be expressed. It is used when: 1. Referring to one of many. ‘Aumai se tusi. — Bring a book. 2. When questioning something’s existence. ‘O se pusi lale? — Is that a cat? 3. Expressing negative. E lē ‘o se pasi. — It’s not a bus. EXERCISE 7 Translate into English 1. ‘O le tamāloa. 6. ‘O ni faiā‘oga. 2. ‘O se falema‘i. 7. ‘O ni teine. 3. ‘O le pepe. 8. ‘O tagata. 4. ‘O le pusi. 9. ‘O falemeli. 5. ‘O se uō. 10. ‘O ni falesā. Lesona   EXERCISE 8 Change these into the plural 1. ‘O le ta‘avale. 2. ‘O le laulau. 3. ‘O le tusi. 4. ‘O le fale. 5. ‘O le tama. 6. ‘O le lā‘au. 7. ‘O le ‘ato. 8. ‘O le peni. 9. ‘O le ta‘avale a Pita. Plural of indefinite article se is ni The plural form of the indefinite article “se” is “ni”. In the sentence: ‘O se lā‘au — It is a tree. the plural becomes ‘O ni lā‘au — They are trees. for example: ‘Aumai ni falaoa. — Bring some bread. ‘O ni ‘api lā? — Are those exercise books? E lē ‘o ni peni. — They aren’t pens. “Ni” is sometimes omitted in colloquial speech. for example: ‘O fōma‘i ? — Are they doctors? E lē ‘o faiā‘oga. — They aren’t teachers. Sometimes when there is no emphasis on the idea of an indefinite number or quantity, the article can be dropped altogether in the plural where “se” is used in the singular. for example: ‘O se ta‘avale — a car the plural becomes ‘O ta‘avale — cars  Gagana Sāmoa EXERCISE 9 Write the Samoan equivalent 1. These are watches. (here) 2. These are tables. (near you) 3. Those are chairs. (far, in the distance) 4. What are these? 5. What are those? (near you) 6. What are those? (far, in the distance) 7. These are books. 8. Those are pens. EXERCISE 10 Write the English equivalent 1. ‘O peni ia. 2. ‘O ‘ato nā. 3. ‘O ta‘avale lā. 4. ‘O ā mea ia? 5. ‘O ā mea lā? 6. ‘O ā mea nā? EXERCISE 11 Change into the singular 1. ‘O fafine. 2. ‘O moli...