I gave (him) a dollar, and he gave me fifty cents change. in Tetun
Ha'u fó $1, nia volta fali 50c.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'
faliPlaced after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.
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
- Jornál ne'e sentavus limanulu.This newspaper is fifty cents.
- Koto lata ida sentavus limanulu.A can of red beans is fifty cents.
- Labarik mane ne'e mii tiha ona nia kalsa, favór ajuda troka nia.The boy has peed his pants, please help him change.
- Ohin iha merkadu ha'u hola batar fulin rua, lima puluh sen.Today in the market I bought two cobs of corn for fifty cents.
- Ha'u fó nia pulsa saugati, maibé nia nafatin la telefone ha'u.I gave him phone credit for free, but he still didn’t call me.
- Horiseik Carlos hamoos uma laran, rai rahun barak loos, halo nia inus metin.Yesterday Carlos cleaned the house, and there was a lot of dust, which gave him a blocked nose.