Auntie Berta promised that she would kill a cow during for All Souls' Day. in Tetun
Tia Berta promete katak nia sei oho karau ida iha tempu Finadu.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
sei — 'will' or 'still'
seiTetun has no verb conjugation. Aspect and tense are marked by particles. 'sei' sits immediately before the verb — marking a definite future ('will') or a continuative ('still'). Combine with 'hela' after the verb for ongoing action. Negation is 'sei la' = 'will not'.
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
- Finadu ami sei oho bibi ida halo modo hodi han hamutuk.On All Souls’ Day we will kill a goat to cook up and eat together.
- Finadu ema barak bá vizita rate.On All Souls’ Day many people go and visit graves.
- Loron finadu tiu ami bá kari ai-funan iha semitériu Taibesi.On All Souls’ Day, we go to place flowers in Taibesi cemetery.
- Iha mundu tomak loron domin koñesidu nu'udar Valentine's Day.All over the world the day of love is known as Valentine's Day.
- Uluk iha kampaña ó ko'alia fun-funan loos, maibé agora la realiza.During the campaign you promised all sorts of things, but these haven't happened.
- Ha'u ohin servisu ful! La bele halo tan!I've worked all day! I can't do any more!