Questions

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The simplest type of questions are made by replacing a noun with ā meaning "what".

o le tusi lea » this is a book
o le a lea? » what is this?
o le a lau tala? » what are you saying?

Along similar lines, we can use ai1, meaning "who", if we are expecting a name as an answer.

'O ai lou igoa? » What is your name?
'O ai lea fa'amolemole » Who is this please? (when speaking on telephone)
'O ai le tama lea? » Who is this boy?

There are a few more words which can be used like this to ask different types of questions.

fea » where   'aiseā » why
fa'apefea » how   fia2 » how many
afea » when (future)   anafea » when (past)

Some example questions using these words:

'O fea le fale'oloa? » Where is the shop?
Fa'apefea na sau 'oe? » How did you get here?
Na sau anafea 'oe » When did you arrive?

Po and Pe

At the start of a question, po is used before 'o (ie, before nouns and adverbs), whilst pe is used before any other type of word. They don't have an English equivalent when used like this:

pe aisea? » Why? (as a standalone sentence)

In the middle of sentences, they mean "whether" or "or", and do not necessarily need to be part of a question:

'E te fia alu pe nofo? » Do you want to go or stay?
I le falema'i po'o le falemeli? » In the hospital or the post office?
'O lona igoa o Sitivi, po'o Steve » His name is Sitivi, or Steve.
Va'ai po'o fea le ta'avale » Look for where the car is.

Articles in Questions

Typically, a question will use the article se1 (a, any) and its plural ni (some), whilst the answers will use the definite article le, if the thing exists. For example:

'ua ta se fia » what is the time? (lit. it has struck a what?)
'ua ta le lua » it's two (lit. it has struck the two).

If articles are translated too literally from English, this can be confusing. The following would be taken as a question, not a statement:

e iai se saimigi » are there noodles?

To state that there is a packet of noodles, you would need to say:

e iai le saimigi » There is a packet of noodles

But to state that it doesn't exist, you would use:

e leai se saimigi » There is no packet of noodles

Questions and possessive pronouns

The same rules as above apply with possessive pronouns in questions. The question is indefinite:

e iai sau ta'avale? »

The reply is definite, if the object exists:

e iai la'u ta'avale »

But if it doesn't exist, then the reply is indefinite:

e leai si a'u ta'avale » I don't have a car.

And likewise for a plain statement outside of a question-answer context:

e leai ni a'u tupe » I've got no money.