Jorge hasn't eaten yet. He's very hungry! in Tetun
Jorge seidauk han. Nia hamlaha loos!
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
loosPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
Negation
seidauk — 'not yet'
seidaukSingle 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.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Sira haan ona ka?Have they eaten yet?
- Nia sei moris. (Nia seidauk mate.)He’s still alive. (He hasn’t died yet.)
- Ami nia lampu iha kuartu laran seidauk tau, nune'e nakukun loos.The light in our bedroom is not yet installed, so it is very dark.
- Loro aas ona. Nusaa mak labarik ne'e la hadeer de'it?The sun's already high in the sky. Why hasn't this kid got up yet?
- Nia mehi ne'e aas loos, no agora dadaun sei imposivel atu konkretiza.His dream is very high, and is as yet impossible to turn into reality.
- Alunus sira halo barullu iha klase laran tanba mestra seidauk mai.The pupils are making a lot of noise in the classroom as the teacher hasn’t come yet.