He stayed there only a day or two. in Tetun
Nia hela iha ne'ebá loron ida-rua de'it.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
hela — 'currently' or 'reside'
helaAfter a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.
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.
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
- Ami hotu hela iha ne'ebá.We all stayed there.
- Ami hasoru labarik na'in rua iha ne'ebá.We met two children there.
- Nia hela iha ne'ebá loron haatnulu.He stayed there forty days.
- Ha'u tenke te'in lai. Depois mak ita na'in rua bá pasiar.I have to cook first. Only then can the two of us go out.
- Uluk rai halai iha Tutuala halo ema na'in rua mate.Once there was a landslide in Tutuala which killed two people.
- Iha mundu tomak loron domin koñesidu nu'udar Valentine's Day.All over the world the day of love is known as Valentine's Day.