Sorry, I couldn't pick up the phone before because I was teaching. - No worries. in Tetun
Deskulpa, ohin ha'u la bele foti telefone tanba ha'u hanorin hela. - La buat ida.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around the verb.
Aspect markers
hela — 'currently' or 'reside'
helaAfter a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- Ami hotu aprende lalais tanba mestra nia métodu hanorin di'ak teb-tebes.We are all learning fast because the teacher has very good teaching methods.
- Ha'u koir hela pulsa atu enxe ba telefone, para telefone ba ferik lai.I scrape off the phone recharge card to top up my phone, so I can call my mother.
- Uluk ema respeitu ó tanba ó servisu ho onestu, maibé agora ó nia naran aat ona tanba ó na'ok.People used to respect of you because you worked honestly, but now you have a bad reputation because you stole.
- Sé nia telefone mak lian?Whose phone is ringing?
- Ita ko'alia via telefone.We talked over the phone.
- Ó nia númeru telefone hira?What is your phone number?