Use of "Nò."
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- (2) An adjunct; as, omàly nò nanàovany izàny, 'it was yesterday that they did (or, made) that'.
- (3) A statement for which a reason is to be given; as, nỳ hàndrina nò tsỳ manìry vòlo, nỳ hènatra, 'it is the forehead which is not covered with hair, shame (causes that)'; i.e., shame is the reason why the forehead is not covered with hair. In such cases, hò is often added; as, nỳ akòho nò hò lèhibè, nỳ vòlony, 'their feathers make the fowls appear large'.
B. Non-emphatic uses of 'nò'.
- (1) As a declarative conjunction, 'in that', 'because'; as, nanào sòa hìanào nò niàntra àzy, 'you did a good deed in that (or, because) you pitied him'.
- (2) As a sign of the past tense of passive verbs in -ana and -ina.
- (3) As a shortened, form of nòny. This is found in "Harè-màhasòa", p. 146. Nòny tsy, 'but for'.
- (4) As a shortened form of nòho in a comparison (rarely so used).
N.B.—Of 'nò', the Rev. W. E. Cousins says:—"The correct or incorrect use of the particle 'nò' is no unfair criterion of the skill a European has attained in speaking Malagasy".
