Take off the child’s clothes before giving him a bath. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Aspect markers

  lai — 'first' / polite request

  lai

  After the verb or object, 'lai' means 'first, for a moment' — often softens a request by implying the action won't last long.

• 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.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• Ha'u nia oan moras. Favór ida lori ba ospitál.My child is sick. Please take (him/her) to hospital.
• Ohin dadeer katuas ida monu ho motór iha Colmera. Ema barak hobur no ajuda nia lori ba ospitál.This morning an old man fell off his motorbike in Colmera. Many people gathered around and helped take him to hospital.
• Ha'u sei hamaran hela ropa antes ha'u bá servisu.I’m drying the clothes before going to work.
• Lori labarik nia alin bá tara iha ai-leten.Take the child’s placenta and hang it in a tree.
• Antes labarik atu han, di'ak liu fó hariis tiha kedan.It is better to bathe the child before he/she eats.
• Dadeer-dadeer antes mai servisu ha'u sempre estrika ha'u nia ropa.Every morning before coming to work I iron my clothes.