Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook, Revised Edition

Lesona 6. The Negative

333333333333333  The Samoan language has a number of ways of signifying agreement. There is the dignified reply of ‘o lea lava, meaning that is so. The ordinary word of ‘ioe for yes, is often shortened to ‘i in everyday speech. Samoans also tend to raise the head and lift eyebrows to show agreement. To signify disagreement, Samoan uses the word leai for no. for example: ‘E te fia ‘ai? — Are you hungry? Leai fa‘afetai. — No thank you. The word for not in Samoan is lē. In the phrase E lē, the word E is a tense marker that shows present tense or implied future. The two words used together form a commonly used structure for the negative: It’s not. for example: E lē ‘o se fale. — It is not a house. You have learnt earlier that: se is the indefinite article singular ni is the indefinite article plural Now study these structures. 1. ‘O se ta‘avale? — Is it a car? ‘Ioe, ‘o le ta‘avale. — Yes, it’s a car. Leai, e lē ‘o se ta‘avale. — No, its not a car. 2. ‘O ni va‘alele lā? — Are those aeroplanes? ‘Ioe, ‘o va‘alele lā. — Yes, those are aeroplanes. Leai, e lē ‘o ni va‘alele lā. — No, those are not aeroplanes. LESoNA 6 The Negative 6 Gagana Sāmoa EXERCISE 20 Translate 1. E lē ‘o se lā‘au. 2. E lē ‘o se fale. 3. E lē ‘o se tusi. 4. E lē ‘o se laulau. 5. E lē ‘o se nofoa. EXERCISE 22 Change into the plural 1. Leai, e lē ‘o se tama. 2. Leai, e lē ‘o se ‘ato. 3. Leai, e lē ‘o se tusi. 4. Leai, e lē ‘o se uati. 5. Leai, e lē ‘o se fale‘oloa. Preparing palusami (fresh young taro leaves) for cooking with coconut cream. Samoan Studies, University of Hawai‘i EXERCISE 21 Translate 1. It’s not a man. 2. It’s not a bus. 3. It’s not a pencil. 4. It’s not a light. 5. It’s not a door. EXERCISE 23 Change into the singular 1. ‘Ioe, ‘o falaoa nei. 2. ‘Ioe, ‘o laulau nā. 3. ‘Ioe, ‘o ‘ato lā. 4. Leai, e lē ‘o ni va‘alele lā. 5. Leai, e lē ‘o ni fale nei. Lesona 6  EXERCISE 24 Change these into the negative 1. ‘Ioe, ‘o le pusi lea. 2. ‘Ioe, ‘o le falemeli lale. 3. ‘Ioe, ‘o le ‘ato. 4. ‘Ioe, ‘o ta‘avale nei. 5. ‘Ioe, ‘o mōlī nei. EXERCISE 25 Change these into the affirmative 1. Leai, e lē ‘o se falaoa. 2. Leai, e lē ‘o ni ‘ato. 3. Leai, e lē ‘o se tamāloa. 4. Leai, e lē ‘o ni tagata. 5. Leai, e lē ‘o se faleā‘oga lelā. other uses of lē (not) 1. When lē is used with the verb, it comes immediately before the verb itself. for example: ‘Ua lē sau Mele. — Mele has not come. ‘Ole‘ā lē ‘ai Simi. — Simi will not eat. 2. As in the case of the verb, the negative lē may be used with other parts of speech, immediately preceding them. for example: E lē ‘ena‘ena le ta‘avale. — The car is not brown. ...