My father has forbidden us from playing on the beach. in Tetun
Ha'u nia apá bandu ami la bele ba halimar iha tasi ibun.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around 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.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- Desportu saida mak ita gosta halimar?What sport do you like playing?
- Ki'ikoan sira nia aman ohin bá servisu.The littlies’ father went to work.
- Nia abitua ho joga karta.He's made a habit of playing cards.
- Pai lori rama hana rusa fuik.My father took a bow to shoot deer.
- Ha'u gosta liu joga basket duké joga voli.I prefer playing basketball to volleyball.
- Sira tuur hakdasak de'it halimar bingo.They just sit on the ground playing bingo.