He's richer than one would expect. It could be he's involved in corruption. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Conditionals

  se / karik — conditionals

  karik

  'se' opens a definite conditional ('if X, then Y'). 'karik' sits at the end of a clause and hedges it ('perhaps'); it can also mark an uncertain conditional.

• 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.

• Prohibition & permission

  keta / lalika / la bele — prohibition

  keta

  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

• Totál estudante iha eskola ne'e sentu í ún pesoas.The total number of students in this school is one hundred and one.
• Atu fó kontinuidade ba servisu instituisaun ne'e nian, di'ak liu ita hili diretór permanente, la bele hili ba tinan rua de'it.To ensure continuity for the work of this institution, it would be better to choose a permanent director, not choose one for only two years.
• Hau hameno serveja ida.I ordered one beer.
• La iha ema ida mak bele halai sees hosi mate.No one escapes from death.
• Ita gosta livru ida ne'ebé?Which (one) book do you like?
• Ha'u ma hatete.I was the one who said (that).