"The people don't want (it)."

Translation: ʻAʻole makemake ka poʻe.

[SamOhuGon]

the subject and stative verb makemake should be interchangeable in position.
ʻAʻole ka poʻe makemake would be entirely intelligible to a speaker, and should be offered as an alternative, rather than marked as incorrect

[Zabrunga]

Why "'a'ole ka po'e makemake" is wrong?

perhaps only pronouns go after 'a'ole?

[Maui_Bartlett]

ʻAe, pololei! That's correct. Only pronouns move up in position to go after ʻaʻole.

[ArmanManoo]

Thanks so much! :) I was wondering why some sentences had “makemake” right after the “ʻAʻole” and some didnʻt.

[Elizabeth676324]

So would the whole "pronouns coming after 'a'ole" thing work for 'ae, too, if it was a similar sentence, like "Yes, I want" or would that be a whole different scenario?

[GaryBisaga]

I believe that is different: 'a'ole is a verb, whereas 'ae is just an interjection. 'A'ole was one of the most confusing bits of Hawaiian grammar to me, so you're not alone in not understanding! What comes after 'a'ole could be several things, depending on the type of sentence. (1) it could be the original po'o if it's a verb like makemake, although the piko/subject would jump in front if it's a pronoun. (2) it would be the original piko (subject) otherwise. If the sentence was an "aia" form, 'a'ole actually replaces aia; otherwise it added. Here are some examples that I hope will help:

Hele au i ka mauna. > 'A'ole au hele i ka mauna.
Hele ke kanaka i ka mauna. > A'ole hele ke kanaka i ka mauna.
Aia kekahi kanaka ma ka mauna. > A'ole kekahi kanaka ma ka mauna.
'O ka mauna kēia wahi. > 'A'ole ka mauna kēia wahi.
Makemake au. > 'A'ole au makemake.
Makemake ka po'e. > 'A'ole makemake ka po'o.

[Jules730827]

I'm so confused. In the last thread, they said that the pronouns came before makemake if it's negative. But not here?

[Zabrunga]

There is no pronoun in this phrase. "The people" is a noun, not a pronoun

[HoferWong]

Is "Mai makemake ka po‘e." an option?

[GaryBisaga]

Kinda, but it means something different. "Mai" here is a negative command, not a negative statement. So it would mean something like "let the people not want it."