The doctor did an autopsy on the victim to try to find out exactly what had caused his death. in Tetun
Doutór sira halo autópsia ba vítima nia mate isin atu buka hatene, tanba saida loos mak kauza nia mate.
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'.
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
loosPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
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
- Mateus agora de'ut hela nia matan, tanba ai-luruk mak tama.Mateus is rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, because a prickle has gotten into his eye.
- Nia saláriu hakerek klaru iha kontratu laran.His salary is clearly written in his contract.
- Inimigu la bele deskobre saida mak ami halo.The enemy couldn't find out what we were doing.
- Janio monu ho motor, nia ain tohar.Janio fell off his motorbike and broke his leg.
- Ita la'o kalan, kuidadu rama ambon.If you go out at night, watch out for metal darts.
- António hakmumuk bee hodi fasi nia ibun.António rinses his mouth with water to wash it out.