My fountain pen is dry, it doesn’t write well any more. in Tetun
Ha'u nia kaneta been maran ona, hakerek la moos ona.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
ona — 'already' (perfective)
onaPlaced after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.
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.
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
- Avoo mane nia matan malahuk ona, nia presiza kaer ai-tonka hodi la'o.Grandfather doesn’t see well any more. He needs to hold on to a walking stick to walk.
- Habai na'an, la bele maran liu. Haree mar-maran de'it, foti ona.When you dry meat, it mustn't be too dry. When you see it is nearly dry, get it (inside).
- Ha'u ohin servisu ful! La bele halo tan!I've worked all day! I can't do any more!
- Iha sidade Dili, animál fuik la iha tiha ona.In Dili, there are no wild animals any more.
- Bainhira ema hotu moris di'ak. signifika nasaun ne'e dezenvolve ona ho di'ak.When all people live well, it means the country has developed well.
- Ha'u moras mii midar, entaun doutór bandu lalika han tan buat midar.I have diabetes, so the doctor told me I can’t eat sweet things any more.