Only those participants who are competent will receive a certificate. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Focus

  mak — focus marker

  mak

  'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.

• Aspect markers

  sei — 'will' or 'still'

  sei

  Tetun 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'.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• Sira sei halo kordenasaun ho sira nia xefe depois mak fó desizaun.They will coordinate with their boss, then they will make a decision.
• Ita nia kolaborasaun di'ak mak bele realiza eventu ne'e.Only if our collaboration is good will we be able to make this event a reality.
• Padre lee sai naran estudante sira ne'ebé sei simu prezente iha Natál.The priest read out the names of students who will receive their presents in Christmas.
• Ita sei liu iha imigrasaun hodi revista ita nia sasán hotu mak foin ita bele sai ba li'ur.We will go through immigration where they will inspect our goods before we can go outside.
• Iha Kuarta-feira Sinzas, sarani sira simu sinzas hanesan símbolu katak ita mai hosi rai, fila fali ba rai.On Ash Wednesday, Christians receive ash as a symbol that they come from dust, and will return to dust.
• Staf ne'ebé publika sai dadus konfidensiál, hanesan kontratu projetu tenderizasaun ka kontratu servisu, sei hetan sansaun.Staff who publish confidential data, such as tender documents or work contracts, will receive sanctions.