The singular noun is sometimes used instead of the plural.

1. Nouns of multitude: ‘Ua o mai le nu‘u, The people have come.

2. Where one stands for a class: E fa‘asalaina le pagota, The criminal will be punished.

The Nominative

The nominative usually follows the verb; ‘ua sau le tomaloa, the man is come. When it precedes the verb it is emphatic, and requires to be followed by a pronoun after the verb:–

• Filoilupo ma Lemaluosamoa,

• Avatu i laua e fai ma oso.

• Filoilupo and Lemaluosamoa,

• Take those two for food.

Nouns standing in apposition, whatever case the first may be in, all the subsequent ones are in the nominative; as Na e tagi i lau tane, ‘o le gogo sina, You cried out for your husband, the white tern.

Every noun, word, or sentence standing as a nominative absolute requires the ‘o before it; as ‘O lona fa‘ato‘a sau lenei, This is his first coming, or visit.

The ‘o is inserted—1. After the adversatives ‘a and peita‘i; ‘a ‘o i matou, matou te o, as for us, we will go. 2. In making comparisons; ‘O le saito, ‘o le afioga lea a le Atua, The wheat, that is the word of God. 3. Mostly after the verbal particles, ona … ai lea; as Ona fetalai atu ai lea ‘o ia, Then he said. 4. After a verb, with the pronoun ia; as ‘ua alofa tele mai ‘o ia, he loves greatly. 5. Before proper names following titles; as ‘O le ali‘i, ‘o Muliaga. O le ali‘i Muliaga would mean, Muliaga is a chief.

The ‘o is omitted—1. Before a descriptive noun in apposition: ‘o Ioane le papatiso, John the Baptist. 2. It is usually omitted when the verb precedes it; as ‘Ua taugagaifo le la, The sun is towards the west. 3. After the conjunctive ma; ‘o le tane ma le fafine, the man and the woman. 3. It is often omitted in poetry: Fagali‘i ma Selea le fanua, Fagali‘i and Selea, the land.

The nominative absolute stands in the beginning of a sentence without a verb; as ‘o le Atua, e sao lava lona ala, God, his way is perfect.

The Genitive

The genitive of material is made by putting the nouns in apposition; ‘o ipu auro, cups gold. Also nouns signifying the use to which a thing is applied: ‘o le fale oloa, a house of goods, in which goods are stored. Things contained in a vessel omit the ‘o; as ‘o le ‘ato masi, a basket of masi; ‘o le fagu u‘u, a bottle of oil. The noun governing the second noun appears to be understood in such sentences as Ua fai mai a ia, for Ua fai mai le upu, He spoke his word. Ua fai mai a le fafine, i.e., le upu a le fafine, The woman spoke her word. E ‘ese le pupula ‘o le tasi fetu i lo le tasi fetu. for i le pupula ‘o le tasi fetu; where le and ‘o is contracted into lo, and pupula understood. The shining of one star differs from the shining of another star. ‘I la le Atua, for ‘I mataupu a le Atua, The word concerning God.

The Dative

The dative is used to signify—1. For the benefit of, or for the use of; as au mai ma a‘u, give it for me, for my use. Au mai ia te a‘u would merely mean to hand over something to his care, but not necessarily for him. 2. On account of; sau ma le la, come in, on account of the sun. 3. The dative is also used to signify—on account of, for the sake of; ‘Ou te le fa‘aumatia ona ‘o i latou, I will not destroy it for their sakes.

The Accusative

Two or more accusatives may follow a verb; ma e fai ai taulaga muia Ieova, lou Atua i ona luga. Sometimes one noun takes another noun after it in the accusative, with a preposition; ‘O le tala i tagata, A narrative concerning men; ‘O le mapu i sela, A whistling from breathlessness; ‘O le tino i fili, The principal enemy. The preposition is often omitted after the verb; ‘O Ieova, na te foa‘i mai le poto, Jehovah, he will give wisdom.

The Vocative

This, in prose, stands in the beginning of a sentence. In poetry it may be placed at the end; Fa‘atali atu e, Tagipo, Wait, O Tangipo. The e, the sign of the vocative, is often omitted; Soufuna Sina, le tamafafine! Woman, Sina, the daughter. When two vocatives are connected by the conjunction ma, the e is omitted after the second; Tui e ma Tui! Tui and Tui! Sometimes a pronoun is used in such cases before the second noun; Ali‘i e, ma outou tulafale, Chiefs, and you heads of families.

In poetry the sign of the vocative is used after verbs and sentences; as Fa‘atali atu e! Oh, wait!

The Ablative

With, along with, is designated by the use of the conjunction ma; as Lua te o ma ia, go you two, and he—that is, go with him; tatou te o ma a‘u, let us go with me; tatou te o ma ‘oe, let us go with you. The use of e, by, is rarely allowed to inanimate things; ‘Ua le ‘aina e le leona, He was not eaten by the lion; but ‘Ua lelea i le matagi, He was carried away in the wind.

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One noun follows another in the ablative, governed by i; as, ‘O le vai i le fagu, The water in the bottle; ‘O le ‘ato i lona lima, The basket in his hand; ‘O le manu i le la‘au, The bird in the tree. A peculiar idiom is ui a uta, to go by land. So also, nofo a tolu, seated by three (in a canoe). ‘O le pu i pa, a hole in a wall, seems as though the plural were used for the singular.