How to Formulate “O ai” Statements in Samoan
In Samoan, “O ai” means “Who” and is used to ask questions about identity, presence, or actions. You can create “O ai” statements by:
- Adding a noun phrase to ask about a person or their role.
- Adding a location phrase beginning with a preposition to ask about someone’s location.
- Adding a tense marker and action to ask about what someone did or is doing, combined with a location phrase to specify where the action occurred.
1. Adding a Noun Phrase
A noun phrase gives specific details about the person’s identity or role. The structure is:
O ai + noun phrase?
Examples:
- O ai le tamaitiiti?
- Translation: Who is the child?
- Explanation: Le tamaitiiti (the child) is the noun phrase describing who you’re asking about.
- O ai le faia’oga?
- Translation: Who is the teacher?
- Explanation: Le faia’oga (the teacher) is the noun phrase.
- O ai le tamā o Mika?
- Translation: Who is Mika’s father?
- Explanation: Le tamā o Mika (Mika’s father) is the noun phrase.
2. Adding a Location Phrase
A location phrase begins with a preposition such as i (in, at, to), i luga o (on top of), or i lalo o (underneath). The structure is:
O ai + location phrase?
Examples:
- O ai i le potu?
- Translation: Who is in the room?
- Explanation: I le potu (in the room) is the location phrase describing where the person is.
- O ai i luga o le laulau?
- Translation: Who is on the table?
- Explanation: I luga o le laulau (on the table) is the location phrase.
- O ai i le faleoloa?
- Translation: Who is at the shop?
- Explanation: I le faleoloa (at the shop) is the location phrase.
3. Adding Tense Marker and Action
When asking “who” questions involving actions, you can add a tense marker (like na for past, o lo’o for present continuous, or e for habitual), followed by an action verb and optionally a location phrase. The structure is:
O ai + tense marker + action + location?
Examples:
- O ai na alu i le fale?
- Translation: Who went into the house?
- Explanation: Na (tense marker for past), alu (go), and i le fale (into the house).
- O ai e galue i le faleoloa?
- Translation: Who works at the store?
- Explanation: E (habitual tense), galue (work), and i le faleoloa (at the store).
Combining All Elements
You can mix and match these components for detailed questions:
Example 1: Combining a Noun Phrase and Action
- O ai le faia’oga na alu i le potu?
- Translation: Who is the teacher who went into the room?
Example 2: Adding a Tense Marker and Location
- O ai o lo’o tautala i le potu?
- Translation: Who is speaking in the room?
Practice Exercise
- Ask who questions with noun phrases:
- Example: “Who is the pastor?”
- Answer: O ai le faife’au?
- Ask who questions with location phrases:
- Example: “Who is at the school?”
- Answer: O ai i le a’oga?
- Ask who questions with tense markers and actions:
- Example: “Who cooked the food?”
- Answer: O ai na kuka le mea’ai?
- Combine tense, action, and location:
- Example: “Who is cleaning the room?”
- Answer: O ai o lo’o fa’amamā le potu?
Summary
- Use O ai + noun phrase to ask “Who is [role/identity]?”
- Use O ai + location phrase to ask “Who is [location]?”
- Use O ai + tense marker + action + location to ask “Who [action] at/in [location]?”
Mastering these structures allows you to form clear and context-specific “who” questions in Samoan!
Practice
Translate or answer the following “O ai” questions in Samoan:
- O ai lou tuafafine?
- O ai le tamaitiiti i le potu?
- O ai le pule o le a’oga?
- O ai le teine i le malae?
- O ai le tausi ma’i i le falema’i?
- O ai le tamā o Mika?
- O ai le teine fai pese?
- O ai lou tuagane?
- O ai le tagata i le faleoloa?
- O ai le tagata e tautala?
- O ai le teine i le ofisa?
- O ai le matua o Pita?
- O ai le faiaoga i le vasega?
- O ai le faife’au i le lotu?
Word Key
- Lou tuafafine
- Lou = Your (possessive pronoun)
- Tuafafine = Sister (a brother’s sister)
- Translation: Who is your sister?
- Le tamaitiiti i le potu
- Le = The (definite article/limiter)
- Tamaitiiti = Child
- I le potu = In the room (i = in, le potu = the room)
- Translation: Who is the child in the room?
- Le pule o le a’oga
- Le = The
- Pule = Principal
- O le a’oga = Of the school (o = of, le a’oga = the school)
- Translation: Who is the principal of the school?
- Le teine i le malae
- Le = The
- Teine = Girl
- I le malae = On the field (i = on, le malae = the field)
- Translation: Who is the girl on the field?
- Le tausi ma’i i le falema’i
- Le = The
- Tausi ma’i = Nurse (tausi = caretaker, ma’i = sick)
- I le falema’i = In the hospital (i = in, le falema’i = the hospital)
- Translation: Who is the nurse in the hospital?
- Le tamā o Mika
- Le = The
- Tamā = Father
- O Mika = Of Mika (o = of, Mika = name)
- Translation: Who is Mika’s father?
- Le teine fai pese
- Le = The
- Teine = Girl
- Fai pese = Singer (fai = do/make, pese = song)
- Translation: Who is the singer (girl)?
- Lou tuagane
- Lou = Your (possessive pronoun)
- Tuagane = Brother (a sister’s brother)
- Translation: Who is your brother?
- Le tagata i le faleoloa
- Le = The
- Tagata = Person
- I le faleoloa = In the shop (i = in, le faleoloa = the shop)
- Translation: Who is the person in the shop?
- Le tagata e tautala
- Le = The
- Tagata = Person
- E tautala = Who is speaking (e = who does habitually, tautala = speak)
- Translation: Who is the person speaking?
- Le teine i le ofisa
- Le = The
- Teine = Girl
- I le ofisa = In the office (i = in, le ofisa = the office)
- Translation: Who is the girl in the office?
- Le matua o Pita
- Le = The
- Matua = Parent
- O Pita = Of Pita (o = of, Pita = name)
- Translation: Who is Pita’s parent?
- Le faia’oga i le vasega
- Le = The
- Faia’oga = Teacher
- I le vasega = In the class (i = in, le vasega = the class)
- Translation: Who is the teacher in the class?
- Le faife’au i le lotu
- Le = The
- Faife’au = Pastor
- I le lotu = At the church (i = at, le lotu = the church)
- Translation: Who is the pastor at the church?
