I have sent him an email, but haven’t yet received a reply. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Aspect markers

  ona — 'already' (perfective)

  ona

  Placed after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.

• Negation

  seidauk — 'not yet'

  seidauk

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

• 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.

Related phrases

• Ha'u debe supermi ida iha kios, tanba osan fulan nian seidauk simu.I bought a packet of instant noodles on credit at the kiosk, because I haven't yet received my monthly allowance.
• Ita krizma tiha ona ka seidauk?Have you received confirmation yet?
• Mestre ohin fó servisu uma barak, ha'u seidauk halo hotu.The teacher gave a lot of homework today. I haven’t finished it yet.
• Ami fó tiha ona planu anuál ba xefe, maibé seidauk hetan reasaun.We’ve given the annual plan to the boss, but haven’t had any reaction yet.
• Ami hato'o ona pedidu ba governu maibé seidauk iha resposta.We have put in a request to the government, but haven’t had a response yet.
• Ha'u susar atu hakerek Portuges tanba seidauk domina asentu.It’s hard for me to write Portuguese as I haven’t yet mastered the diacritics.