Perhaps the spirits of the dead or the sacred things of this land have adversely influenced him. in Tetun
Keta matebian no lulik rai ida ne'e nian babeur ona nia karik.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nianian'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.
Aspect markers
ona — 'already' (perfective)
onaPlaced after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.
Conditionals
se / karik — conditionals
karik'se' opens a definite conditional ('if X, then Y'). 'karik' sits at the end of a clause and hedges it ('perhaps'); it can also mark an uncertain conditional.
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
- Di'ak ida nia mai, di'ak ida la mai.Perhaps he'll come, perhaps he won't.
- Pedro trauma loos tanba uluk milísia tiru mate nia aman iha loos nia oin.Pedro is traumatized as the militia shot dead his father right in front of him.
- Maromak halo buat mesak furak iha ita nia moris, nune'e mai ita hahii-hanai Nia naran.God has done wonderful things in our lives. That’s why we praise and worship Him.
- Sira servisu hamutuk hodi kaer metin prinsípiu moris ida katak, "Todan leba hamutuk, kmaan ita hi'it hamutuk."They worked together, holding firmly to the life principle that, "We carry heavy things together, we lift light things together."
- Horiseik ha'u telefone nia.Yesterday I rang him..
- Ne'e ha'u nia sala. Keta fó todan ba nia!It was my fault. Don't blame him!