The enemy couldn't find out what we were doing. in Tetun
Inimigu la bele deskobre saida mak ami halo.
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'.
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.
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
- Ita la'o kalan, kuidadu rama ambon.If you go out at night, watch out for metal darts.
- Ha'u buka xave la hetan, tanba livru helik tiha.I looked for my keys but couldn't find them, as a book concealed/covered them.
- Rama oan tama ó nia isin, sai araska, tenke koá sai.If an arrow goes into your body, it’s hard to get it out. It has to be cut out.
- Atu sai kalan, uza matan helik, para inimigu keta hetan.If you are going out at night, use an invisibility charm, so that the enemy won't see you.
- Doutór sira halo autópsia ba vítima nia mate isin atu buka hatene, tanba saida loos mak kauza nia mate.The doctor did an autopsy on the victim to try to find out exactly what had caused his death.
- Moisés halo saida?What is Moisés doing?