One day you'll receive your comeuppance. in Tetun
Loron ida ó sei simu ó nia masin ka'ut.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
sei — 'will' or 'still'
seiTetun has no verb conjugation. Aspect and tense are marked by particles. 'sei' sits immediately before the verb — marking a definite future ('will') or a continuative ('still'). Combine with 'hela' after the verb for ongoing action. Negation is 'sei la' = 'will not'.
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
- Ó la bele nega ó nia kolega hanesan ne'e, tempu ida sei presiza nia.Don’t deny you friend like this, as one day you’ll need him.
- Iha mundu tomak loron domin koñesidu nu'udar Valentine's Day.All over the world the day of love is known as Valentine's Day.
- Totál estudante iha eskola ne'e sentu í ún pesoas.The total number of students in this school is one hundred and one.
- Atu simu osan, tama ida-ida; la bele tama hamutuk.To receive (your) money, come in one at a time; you can’t come in together.
- Ami han koto tisi ne'ebé ha'u nia maê daan, hoban loron ida tomak iha bee laran no fase dala tolu.We eat the wild lima bean that my mum boiled, soaked in water for one whole day and rinse three times.
- Hau hameno serveja ida.I ordered one beer.