I am having a stomach ache. Maybe I can ask for permission to go home. 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.

• Possibility & probability

  bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility

  bele

  Tetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• Ami rasik la bele ajuda ita, maibé ami bele husu ajuda ba ema seluk.We ourselves can’t help you, but we can ask for help from someone else.
• Ami enxe bee ba jérigen hodi lori ba uma.We filled the jerry can with water and carried it home.
• Ha'u servisu barak iha uma, nune'e ohin loron ha'u la bele bá pasiar.I have so much work to do at home, that today I can’t go out.
• Ha'u iha fahi inan, ha'u husu ha'u nia kolega nia fahi aman para fó kaben lai.I have a sow, and ask for my friend's boar so that we can mate them.
• Mina rai bele sai bénsaun ba nasaun, maibé bele mós sai malisan.Petroleum can be a blessing to a nation, but can also become a curse.
• Labarik kabun moras. Ohin nia han etu, muta sai hotu.The child has a stomach ache. He ate some rice and threw it all up again.