My colleague is ill, so he handed over his work to me to do. in Tetun
Ha'u nia kolega moras, entaun nia entrega tiha nia servisu mai ha'u mak halo.
English → Tetun phrasebook
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.
Focus
mak — focus marker
mak'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.
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
- Mestre Mario dada an hosi nia servisu tanba la gosta nia xefe.Teacher Mario resigned from his work as he didn’t like his boss.
- Tiu Domingos sempre rei nia oan ho nia kaben molok nia bá servisu.Uncle Domingos always kisses his children and his wife before leaving for work.
- Atoy tuku nia kolega nia kabun mamar to'o monu fatin.Atoy punched his colleague in the centre of his stomach, making him fall down on the spot.
- Mateus agora de'ut hela nia matan, tanba ai-luruk mak tama.Mateus is rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, because a prickle has gotten into his eye.
- Nia saláriu hakerek klaru iha kontratu laran.His salary is clearly written in his contract.
- Janio monu ho motor, nia ain tohar.Janio fell off his motorbike and broke his leg.