A child cried very loudly because her mother hit her. in Tetun
Labarik ida tanis hakilar maka'as loos tanba nia mamá baku.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
loosPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nia'nia' goes BEFORE the thing possessed; 'nian' goes AFTER. Both function the same way; position decides which form. 'nia' is also the 3rd-person pronoun (he / she / it) — disambiguate by position.
More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Nia tanis to'o matan bubu.She cried and cried till her eyes were swollen.
- Maria sateia hela de'it nia amá tanba osan.Maria keeps hassling her mother (to give her) money.
- Inan haketak susu husi nia oan hodi fó han fali sasoro.The mother weans her child and instead gives rice porridge.
- Nia namoradu ne'e hais nia to'o lima sén mós la iha nia isin!Her boyfriend bled her dry till she didn't even have five cents left on her!
- Tia sa'e mikrolét hiti de'it nia subriña tanba ema nakonu.Auntie got into the minibus and held her niece on her lap because the minibus was full of people.
- Inan ida estraga labarik iha kabun laran tan de'it mane lakohi tau matan.The mother aborted her baby in the womb just because the man refused to take responsibility (for the baby).