His dream is very high, and is as yet impossible to turn into reality. in Tetun
Nia mehi ne'e aas loos, no agora dadaun sei imposivel atu konkretiza.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
sei — 'will' or 'still'
seiTetun 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'.
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.
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
- Mateus agora de'ut hela nia matan, tanba ai-luruk mak tama.Mateus is rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, because a prickle has gotten into his eye.
- Kareta ne'e kualidade di'ak, nia folin moos aas loos.This car is of high quality, and its prices is also very high.
- Jorge seidauk han. Nia hamlaha loos!Jorge hasn't eaten yet. He's very hungry!
- Nia saláriu hakerek klaru iha kontratu laran.His salary is clearly written in his contract.
- Ha'u hateke ba aviaun, semo aas tebes.I looked at the plane, it was flying very high.
- Kusta loos atu komprende nia hahalok.It’s very difficult to understand his attitude.