"Kaleo is my uncle."

Translation: ʻO Kaleo koʻu ʻanakala.

[Zabrunga]

Is it wrong to say ko'u anakala 'o kaleo?

[kelii....]

You are close. You cannot start a sentence like that with a noun or name with nothing before it. Thus, you could say ‘O ko‘u anakala ‘o Kaleo.

[Zabrunga]

What do you mean "a sentence like that"? what sentences can start with a ka?

[kelii....]

None, and none would start with a possessive adjective like ko'u as well.

[CAJWalsh]

This sentence seems unlike many others in that the word order is basically the same as in English. Could someone please provide a little bit more context as to why? Thanks if you can :)

[kelii....]

Long explanation for a simple thing - Usually the subject is in the second position in Hawaiian sentences, even for these verbless sentences that start with ‘O. Technically you can say the same sentence as ‘O ko‘u ‘anakala ‘o Kaleo. However that sounds really verbose and awkward because of that second ‘o that is needed in that case. So with that sentence pattern starting with ‘O and with a name, they just put the name first. It just flows better.

[braddah_naks]

o kaleo o koʻu ʻanakala shouldnt be wrong

[kelii....]

Actually the second o ( 'o ) is extraneous and should not be there in that sentence of yours. ko'u 'anakala as a subject does not need the subject marker 'o.

[braddah_naks]

I see I see haha my bad. Sometimes I forget the basic stuff haha been so long since I used it.

[R_Monta]

What's the difference between "He Kaleo ko'u 'anakala" and " 'O Kaleo ko'u 'anakala"?

[kelii....]

You cannot use He before proper nouns, like names. That is like saying My uncle is a George instead of My uncle is George.

[Talmerian]

Why isn't this Uncly instead of uncle?

[kelii....]

Because people in Hawai‘i don't say uncly. They do say aunty though.