I threw out my telephone because otherwise I'd spend too much time playing games. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Conditionals

  se / karik — conditionals

  se

  '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.

• Intensifiers

  Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)

  demais

  Position 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.

Related phrases

• Saláriu fulan ne'e atrazu demais!Salaries this month came out much too late!
• Modo ne'e meer loos tanba Nina tau masin barak liu.The vegetables are very salty because Nina put in too much salt.
• Ha'u lakon tempu barak bá kursu, maibé la aprende buat ida.I have wasted time so much time attending a course, but didn’t learn anything.
• La bele ranxu ho ema lanu-teen sira. Se lae, ó mós bele sai lanu-teen hotu.Don’t hang out with the drunkards. Otherwise, you could become a drunkard too.
• Iha tempu kuarezma hananu entrada nian la bele moris liu, tanba kuarezma ne'e tempu triste nian.During lent, the entrance hymn shouldn’t be too lively, because lent is a time of sadness.
• Ko'us labarik keta doko demais, se lae nia bele mura tanba nia foin han bosu loos.When cuddling this infant don't shake her too much, else she might burp up her milk, because she's just had a big feed.