If we don’t cut down this mango tree, its roots will damage our house. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• 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.

• Aspect markers

  sei — 'will' or 'still'

  sei

  Tetun 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.

Related phrases

• Bainhira atu tesi hali huun, tenke muda tiha hali na'in ba fatin ruma lai.When you are about to cut down a banyan tree, you must first move its spirit to another place.
• Sira fó hatene mai ami, dehan ami nia uma ahi han.They informed us that our house was burnt down.
• Horiseik Apet haksoit tuun hosi haas huun, í nia ain naksalak.Yesterday Apet jumped down from a mango tree, and sprained his ankle.
• Ita presiza uma provizóriu ida atu hela to'o ita bele harii ita nia uma rasik.We need a temporary house to stay in until we can build our own house.
• Ita sei liu iha imigrasaun hodi revista ita nia sasán hotu mak foin ita bele sai ba li'ur.We will go through immigration where they will inspect our goods before we can go outside.
• Ita fila ba uma, hemu bee manas lai maka fahe malu.We will go to the house, have a drink (which could be an entire festive meal), and then go our separate ways.