My neighbours built high walls around their house because they are afraid of thieves getting in. 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.

• Possibility & probability

  bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility

  bele

  Tetun 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.

Related phrases

• Sira servisu oin la moos hotu tanba simu subornu.They are not doing their work properly because they received bribes.
• Sira hotu han to'o bosu. Han tiha, sira mós fahe malu.They all ate until they were satisfied. Having eaten, they went their separate ways.
• Ha'u nia viziñu halo moru aas hale'u uma tanba ta'uk ema tuda.My neighbour build a high wall around the house out of fear that people would throw rocks (at the house).
• Sira sempre xave odamatan waiñira sira sai husi uma.They always lock the door when they leave the house.
• La bele hanaruk tan sira nia kontratu, tanba sira servisu la di'ak!Don't extend their contract, because they don't work well!
• Sira sempre manifesta sira nia fidelidade ba sira nia lider.They always demonstrate their faithfulness to their leader.