Sāmoan Determiner
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A determiner is part of speech or word class that when combined with the noun, helps to specify or reference the context of the noun.
For more information on nouns, please goto the nouns page.
ʻO + le + noun = "The" (noun)
With ʻO to start, "le" means "the" in this context.
With "ʻO" being a particle, it is the specific determiner or article "le" meaning "the" that would make the noun singular as written in this context.
ʻO + se + noun = "A" (noun)
With ʻO to start, "se" means "a" in this context.
With "ʻO" being a particle, it is the specific determiner or article "se" meaning "a" that would make the noun singular as written in this context.
ʻO + word = The ...s/es (plural)
With ʻO to start (without the determiner or article) and the individual word, together they form the plural noun.
An explanation to consider is that all nouns written with the particle "ʻO" are plural (as written in this context) until they have a specific article such as ʻO + le, "le" meaning "the" that would make the noun singular.
Sāmoan determiner also know as an article. Please consider the determiner is used in combination with other particles/words such as "ʻO" to more clearly communicate the noun.
Sāmoan | English |
Le | The |
Se | A, an |
ʻO + le (determiner) + noun = "The" (noun)
ʻO + se (determiner) + noun = "A" (noun)
Sāmoan | English (singular) |
Lenei | This (close) |
Lea | This (close) |
Lenā | That (close) |
Lele | That (not close, but within range) |
Lelā | That (away, at a distance) |
Lale | That (away, at a distance) |
Sāmoan | English (plural) |
Nei | These (close) |
ia | These (close) |
nā | Those (close) |
Lelā | Those (away, at a distance) |
Sāmoan demonstrative determiners are words that refer to a noun word.
For more information on nouns, please goto the nouns page.
Sāmoan | English |
Fale | House |
Maile | Dog |
Puaʻa | Pig |
Taʻavale | Automobile |