Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook, Revised Edition

Lesona 24. The Verb 'To Be'

333333333333333 6 LESoNA 24 The Verb ‘To Be’ The verb to be includes am, is, are, was, and were in English. There are no single words in Samoan for these words. However, there are other ways (equivalent structures) to express these. 1. Iai can be used as a verb for the words there is, there were, etc. by using the tense marker of the tense required. (E is the present tense marker used in the following examples.) for example: E iai se falaoa? — Is there any bread? E iai laulau ma nofoa. — There are tables and chairs. 2. Placing nouns (or noun phrases) side by side makes phrases like the following: ‘O a‘u ‘o le tama. — I am a boy. ‘O Lagi ‘o le fōma‘i. — Lagi is a doctor. ‘O Sina ‘o le lōia. — Sina is a lawyer. 3. When we use tense markers with adjectives and adverbs, these adjectives and adverbs take on the verb function. for example: Sā loloto le vaitā‘ele. — The pool was deep. ‘Ole‘ā fia ‘ai le tama. — The boy will be hungry. 4. With the tense markers ‘ua and ‘olo‘o the auxiliary verb to be is often translated with the main verb. for example: ‘Olo‘o alu le pasi. — The bus is going. ‘Ua ‘ou fia moe. — I am sleepy. 5. ‘O is the equivalent of the verb is in sentences such as: ‘O le fale. — (It’s) the house. ‘O le teine. — (It’s) the girl. It tells us that something exists. (See Lesona 11.) Lesona   EXERCISE 111 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. E iai se ‘ato? 2. E iai se tama? 3. E iai se lā‘au i fafo? 4. E iai se tamaitiiti? 5. E iai se peni? EXERCISE 112 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. The water was cold. 2. The house was brown. 3. The bottle was broken. 4. The boy will be sleepy. 5. The baby will be cold. EXERCISE 113 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. Sā iai ni peni? 2. Sā iai ni tagata? 3. Na iai ni ta‘avale? 4. Na iai ni se‘evae? 5. Na iai ni laulau? EXERCISE 114 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. The pastor is praying. 2. The man is walking. 3. The girl is working. 4. The dog is sleeping. 5. The cat is eating. Singers await conductor.  Gagana Sāmoa EXERCISE 115 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. ‘O a‘u ‘o le faiā‘oga. 2. ‘O ‘oe ‘o le fōma‘i. 3. ‘O ia ‘o le faife‘au. 4. ‘O Viliamu ‘o le ‘inisinia. 5. ‘O Mataio ‘o le porōfesa. EXERCISE 116 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. Na iai le fale. 2. Na iai le tupe. 3. Na iai le tamāloa i le fale. 4. Na iai le ‘ato i totonu o le potu. 5. ‘Olo‘o iai le pepa i luga o le laulau. EXERCISE 117 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. E iai le fale. 2. E iai se fale? 3. ‘Ioe, e iai le fale. 4. Leai, e leai se fale. 5. E iai ni fale? 6. ‘Ioe, e iai fale. 7. Leai, e leai ni fale. 8. E iai fale. EXERCISE 118 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. E iai le ta‘avale i le faleta‘avale. 2. E iai tagata i le potu. 3. ‘Ioe, e iai faiā‘oga i le ā‘oga. 4. Leai, e leai se gāluega. 5. E iai ni mea‘ai o le fale‘aiga? Lesona   EXERCISE 119 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. There is a man in the shop. 2. No, there are no trees in the picture. 3. Yes, there is a dog in the picture. 4. Is there a house near the road? 5. Are there any people in the room? EXERCISE 120 Translate / Fa‘aliliu 1. ‘O le tamāloa. 2. ‘O le fale. 3. ‘O a‘u. 4. ‘O ia. 5. ‘O ‘i lātou. ...