Build a fence around the garden so that animals can’t come in and eat the corn. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Negation

  la — 'not' (general negation)

  la

  Placed before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around the verb.

• Possibility & probability

  bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility

  bele

  Tetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.

• Prohibition & permission

  keta / lalika / la bele — prohibition

  la bele

  Three strengths of 'don't': 'lalika(n)' is softest — 'no need to, don't bother'. 'keta' is a direct prohibitive command. 'la bele' = 'not allowed, must not'.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• La bele han ai-fuan ne'e lai, tanba sei tara hela horok. Aban liurai sei hasai horok mak bele han.You can't eat the fruit yet, because it is still under the horok taboo. You can only eat the fruit once the king removes the horok.
• Ferik balu dehan, se sukaer musan kona, entaun foti batar kose hadulas dala hitu. Depois tuku rahun tiha batar ne'e, se lae, hodi batar ne'e soe tiha ba fahi han.Some older women say, if you have swollen glands, then you should take a (cob of) corn and swirl it around the gland seven times. Then smash the corn, or else throw it to the pigs to eat.
• Atu simu osan, tama ida-ida; la bele tama hamutuk.To receive (your) money, come in one at a time; you can’t come in together.
• Imi kuda batar oin hira? - Ami kuda oin rua: batar lais ho batar boot.How many types of corn did you plant? - We planted two types: ‘quick’ corn and ‘big’ corn.
• Atoi hakarak han batar.Atoi wants to eat corn.
• Hahán feitu ona, haruka sira mai han de'it.The food is ready. Just ask them to come and eat.