If our leaders have a strong inferiority complex, it is difficult for them to defend the interests of the people, because they don't have the courage to oppose people from other groups. in Tetun
Se ita nia lider iha kompleksu dé inferioridade maka'as, sei susar tebes defende interese povu nian, tanba la brani kontra ema hosi grupu seluk.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nianian'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.
Aspect markers
sei — 'will' or 'still'
seiTetun has no verb conjugation. Aspect and tense are marked by particles. 'sei' sits immediately before the verb — marking a definite future ('will') or a continuative ('still'). Combine with 'hela' after the verb for ongoing action. Negation is 'sei la' = 'will not'.
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.
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
- Sira hirus malu to'o ida-ida buka fatuk hodi tuda malu.They were angry at each other, to the extent that they each looked for rocks and threw them at each other.
- La bele hanaruk tan sira nia kontratu, tanba sira servisu la di'ak!Don't extend their contract, because they don't work well!
- Sira somente lori formuláriu mai de'it, ema seluk mak prienxe.They only brought forms, it was other people who filled them in.
- Kuandu ema hala'o edukasaun sívika, sira hanorin povu kona ba lia polítiku nian, no mós kona ba direitu no responsabilidade reinu nian, atu foti povu nia konsiénsia polítiku.When people conduct civic education, they teach the people about political affairs, and also about the rights and responsibilities of the people, to raise their political awareness.
- Sira atu ema boot ka ki'ik, ha'u la interese.I don't care whether they are VIPs or ordinary people.
- La bele du'un matak ema karik ita la iha evidénsia ne'ebé forte.You can’t just accuse people if you don’t have strong evidence.