Editing Article (grammar) (section)

=== Tokelauan ===
{{Undue weight section|date=December 2023|to=Tokelauan, we should not give a separate lengthy section to all languages, much less to Tokelauan out of all}}
When using a definite article in [[Tokelauan language]], unlike in some languages like English, if the speaker is speaking of an item, they need not have referred to it previously as long as the item is specific.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Simona|first1=Ropati|title=Tokelau Dictionary|date=1986|publisher=Office of Tokelau Affairs|location=New Zealand|page=Introduction}}</ref> This is also true when it comes to the reference of a specific person.<ref name=":0" /> So, although the definite article used to describe a noun in the Tokelauan language is ''te'', it can also translate to the indefinite article in languages that requires the item being spoken of to have been referenced prior.<ref name=":0" /> When translating to English, ''te'' could translate to the English definite article ''the'', or it could also translate to the English indefinite article ''a''.<ref name=":0" /> An example of how the definite article ''te'' can be used as an interchangeable definite or indefinite article in the Tokelauan language would be the sentence “''Kua hau te tino''”.<ref name=":0" /> In the English language, this could be translated as “'''A man has arrived'''” or “'''The man has arrived'''” where using ''te'' as the article in this sentence can represent any man or a particular man.<ref name=":0" /> The word ''he'', which is the indefinite article in Tokelauan, is used to describe ‘any such item’, and is encountered most often with negatives and interrogatives.<ref name=":0" /> An example of the use of ''he'' as an indefinite article is “''Vili ake oi k'aumai he toki'' ”, where ‘''he toki'' ’ mean ‘'''an axe'''’.<ref name=":0" /> The use of ''he'' and ''te'' in Tokelauan are reserved for when describing a singular noun. However, when describing a plural noun, different articles are used. For plural definite nouns, rather than ''te'', the article ''nā'' is used.<ref name=":0" /> ‘''Vili ake oi k'aumai nā nofoa''’ in Tokelauan would translate to “'''Do run and bring me the chairs'''” in English.<ref name=":0" /> There are some special cases in which instead of using ''nā'', plural definite nouns have no article before them. The absence of an article is represented by ''0''.<ref name=":0" /> One way that it is usually used is if a large amount or a specific class of things are being described.<ref name=":0" /> Occasionally, such as if one was describing an entire class of things in a nonspecific fashion, the singular definite noun ''te'' would is used.<ref name=":0" /> In English, ‘''Ko te povi e kai mutia''’ means “'''Cows eat grass'''”.<ref name=":0" /> Because this is a general statement about cows, ''te'' is used instead of ''nā''. The ''ko'' serves as a preposition to the “''te''” The article ''ni'' is used for describing a plural indefinite noun. ‘''E i ei ni tuhi?''’ translates to “'''Are there any books?'''”<ref name=":0" />