Calling Someone: e

Calling Someone: Vocative E

Level 2

Put e before the name of the person you speak to, then say what you want.

How It Works

The calling e is easy to spot: it comes right before a name and then there is a pause, which is usually written as a comma.

Call	What follows
E Kala,	e kōkua mai iaʻu. Help me.
E nā keiki,	e hoʻolohe mai. Listen.

The Reference Grammar says the calling e goes before the name or role of the person addressed, and gives E Pualani, hele mai! for “Pualani, come here!”. A title can take an article after it, as in E ke kumu in the same grammar.

The calling e is not the same word as the e in a command or the e in e … ana. It stands alone before a name, and the sentence after it has its own marker.

Examples (5)

E Kala, e kōkua mai iaʻu.
Kala, help me.
E calls Kala, and the second e starts the command.
E Keoni, pehea ʻoe?
Keoni, how are you?
The call comes before the question.
E Noelani, e hele mai.
Noelani, come here.
Mai shows the movement is toward the speaker.
E nā keiki, e hoʻolohe mai.
Children, listen.
E can call a group.
E Leilani, ua pau kaʻu hana.
Leilani, my work is finished.
A statement can follow a call.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Calling Someone: eLevel 2Calling Someone: Vocative E

Learn This First

A call to someone starts with e and a name, and a command often follows.

Telling Someone to Do Something
Know the e command, because the sentence after a call is often a command: E Kala, e kōkua mai iaʻu.
Level 1

Words in This Pattern

Practice Calling Someone: e in Bubblegum

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