My son is very naughty; he likes to jump up and down on the fence. in Tetun
Ha'u nia oan mane nakar loos, gosta haksoit tuun-sae iha lutu.
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.
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
- Loja na'in nia jestaun osan aat tebes, ho nune'e sira tenke hapara sira nia negósiu.This shop’s financial management was very poor, with the result that they had to close down their business.
- karun la halimarvery expensive
- Alex nia nehan mutin loos.Alex’ teeth are very white.
- Sé mak fó lanu ha'u nia oan ne'e?Who got my son/daughter drunk?
- Tiu ne'e nia isin fulun mahar loos.Uncle has very thick body hair.
- Angela nia isin lotuk no bonita loos.Angela is slim and very pretty.