Sāmoan Noun
A noun is part of speech or word class that may include a person, place, thing (including plants and animals).
Although nouns can be defined in a word list as individual words, when written or spoken, they are used in combination with other particles/words such as "ʻO" to more clearly communicate the noun.
ʻO + word = The ...s/es (plural)
With ʻO to start 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 | English |
ʻO fale. | The houses. |
ʻO taʻavale. | The automobiles. |
ʻO maile. | The dogs. |
ʻO + le + word = The ...
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.
Sāmoan | English |
ʻO le fale. | The house. |
ʻO le taʻavale. | The automobile. |
ʻO le maile. | The dog. |
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.
Sāmoan | English |
ʻO se puaʻa. | A pig. |
Sāmoan | English | Noun type |
ʻĀmataga | Begining | Thing (intangible) |
Fale | House | Place |
Maile | Dog | Thing (Animal) |
Puaʻa | Pig | Thing (Animal) |
Taʻavale | Automobile | Thing |
Tamā | Father | Person |
Tinā | Mother | Person |
Polynesian Languages
- Sāmoan and Polynesian Dictionary
- Sāmoan and Polynesian
- Sāmoan and Polynesian Animals
- Sāmoan and Polynesian Astronomy
- Location names of Polynesia
Sāmoan Language
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