I have to support my family because none of them have a job. in Tetun
Ha'u tenke fó han ba ha'u nia família tanba sira hotu la servisu.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around 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.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Ita tenke buka meius oinsá mak bele manán osan hodi sustenta família.We need to find a way to earn money to support the family.
- Ó la bele konta sai ba ema seluk tanba ida ne'e buat uma laran nian.You can't tell other people, because this is just within the family.
- Sira na'in rua konslet hela, la bele bolu mai tuur hamutuk.The two of them are aren't talking, you can't call them to sit together.
- Ha'u buka xave la hetan, tanba livru helik tiha.I looked for my keys but couldn't find them, as a book concealed/covered them.
- Haas huun boot ne'e nia fuan barak mangál ona, ita bele ku'u hodi han.This large mango tree has lots of nearly-ripe fruit. We can pick them and eat them.
- Haas iha toos lar tasak hotu ona, ami atu bá kait.The mangoes on the farm are all ripe, we’re about to go and hook them (to pick them).