He is a stern disciplinarian but is very kind. in Tetun
Nia ema si'ak-teen ida maibé nia laran di'ak loos.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
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.
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.
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
- Feto oan ne'e simu ita ba nia uma ho oin midar, nia laran di'ak.The girl welcomed us to her house with a smile. She is very kind.
- Feto ne'e laran di'ak loos. Buat saida de'it mak nia hola, nia sempre fahe.This woman is very kind-hearted. Whatever she buys, she always shares.
- karun la halimarvery expensive
- Alex nia nehan mutin loos.Alex’ teeth are very white.
- Tiu ne'e nia isin fulun mahar loos.Uncle has very thick body hair.
- Angela nia isin lotuk no bonita loos.Angela is slim and very pretty.