Put in your invoice first, and then we'll process it. in Tetun
Hatama imi nia invoice mai, depois mak ami prosesa.
English → Tetun phrasebook
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'.
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.
Time expressions
Temporal connectors
depoisCommon time words: 'bainhira / kuandu' = when; 'molok / antes' = before; 'depois' and 'liu tiha' = after; 'kedas' = immediately; 'foin' = only just, very recently; 'kleur' = a long time.
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
- Toni siku uluk ha'u mak ha'u baku nia.Toni elbowed me first, and only then did I hit him.
- Hatidin tiha sanan ba ahi leten, depois mak fui bee ba.Put the saucepan on the fire, then pour in the water.
- Ha'u tenke te'in lai. Depois mak ita na'in rua bá pasiar.I have to cook first. Only then can the two of us go out.
- Habosok labarik toba tiha lai mak ó han.Distract the child into sleeping first, and then you can eat.
- Ha'u sei bá kaza dé banhu lai, depois mak ita la'o hamutuk.I will go to the bathroom first, then we can go walking together.
- Ita bá oin la bele ona, muda ba marxa atrás para bá kotuk lai.We can't go forward any more, put (the car) into reverse so we can go backwards first.