Fania’s periods have stopped coming as she is expecting. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Aspect markers

  ona — 'already' (perfective)

  ona

  Placed after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.

• 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.

• Aspect markers

  tiha ona — completed perfect

  tiha ona

  Stronger than 'ona' alone. Marks a completed action with ongoing relevance — closer to the English present perfect.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• Agora rai tarutu, tanba udan mai dadaun.Now there is thunder, because rain is coming.
• Tinan uluk señora ne'e hetan ona, maibé nia abortu.Last year this lady was expecting, but she miscarried.
• Dadeer-dadeer antes mai servisu ha'u sempre estrika ha'u nia ropa.Every morning before coming to work I iron my clothes.
• Polísia hapara kareta sira ne'ebé liu cek poin.The police stopped the cars that passed the check point.
• Imi bá konfirma tiha lai, aban prezidente mai ka lae?Go and confirm whether the president is coming tomorrow.
• Ema tama mate nabanaban, to'o uma laran ema nakonu.People just kept coming in, until the house was full of people.