Fretilin insisted that the legislation should not include amnesty for people who committed serious crimes. in Tetun
Fretilín insiste katak lejizlasaun ne'e la bele inklui amnistia ba ema ne'ebé komete krime grave.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced 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
beleTetun 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 beleThree 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.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Povu Timor nia ligasaun emosionál ho Fretilín nu'udar aset boot liu ba Fretilin.The Timorese people's emotional links with Fretilin are Fretilin's major asset.
- Kuandu ema hala'o edukasaun sívika, sira hanorin povu kona ba lia polítiku nian, no mós kona ba direitu no responsabilidade reinu nian, atu foti povu nia konsiénsia polítiku.When people conduct civic education, they teach the people about political affairs, and also about the rights and responsibilities of the people, to raise their political awareness.
- Ema Atauro bahat ai sai estátua ema ne'ebé furak loos.Atauro people carve wood into beautiful statues of people.
- Ema tama mate nabanaban, to'o uma laran ema nakonu.People just kept coming in, until the house was full of people.
- Ema boot servisu iha parlamentu, balu han matak povu nia osan.Some senior people who work in the parliament swindle the people of their money.
- Polísia buka atu prevene kriminalidade, la'ós de'it atu kaer ema ne'ebé mak halo ona krime.Police are seeking to prevent crime, not just arrest those who have committed crimes.