He’s still alive. (He hasn’t died yet.) in Tetun

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.

• Aspect markers

  sei — 'will' or 'still'

  sei

  Tetun has no verb conjugation. Aspect and tense are marked by particles. 'sei' sits immediately before the verb — marking a definite future ('will') or a continuative ('still'). Combine with 'hela' after the verb for ongoing action. Negation is 'sei la' = 'will not'.

• Negation

  seidauk — 'not yet'

  seidauk

  Single word covering English 'not yet / hasn't ... yet'. Goes before the verb.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• Jorge seidauk han. Nia hamlaha loos!Jorge hasn't eaten yet. He's very hungry!
• Loro aas ona. Nusaa mak labarik ne'e la hadeer de'it?The sun's already high in the sky. Why hasn't this kid got up yet?
• Alunus sira halo barullu iha klase laran tanba mestra seidauk mai.The pupils are making a lot of noise in the classroom as the teacher hasn’t come yet.
• 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.
• Sira haan ona ka?Have they eaten yet?
• Aguenta tan uitoan, ha'u sei te'in hela.Hang on, I’m still cooking.