People accused him saying it was he who had killed the child. in Tetun
Ema fó sala ba nia dehan nia mak oho labarik ne'e.
English → Tetun phrasebook
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.
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'.
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
- Kuandu ema hala'o edukasaun sívika, sira hanorin povu kona ba lia polítiku nian, no mós kona ba direitu no responsabilidade reinu nian, atu foti povu nia konsiénsia polítiku.When people conduct civic education, they teach the people about political affairs, and also about the rights and responsibilities of the people, to raise their political awareness.
- Ema sira ne'e akuza diretór dehan nia halo korupsaun.These people accused the director of corruption.
- Uluk ema oho mate Timor oan barak iha funu laran.Many Timorese people were killed during the war.
- Ha'u nia oan moras. Favór ida lori ba ospitál.My child is sick. Please take (him/her) to hospital.
- Kolu lai labarik nia ropa mak fó hariis.Take off the child’s clothes before giving him a bath.
- Labarik ne'e han de'it saida mak bokur loos ne'e!?What on earth is this child eating to make him so fat!?