The important role of the teacher is to teach the students. in Tetun
Mestre sira nia papél importante liu mak hanorin estudante sira.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Comparison
liu — comparison 'more / most'
liuTetun comparison uses 'X liu Y' not 'mais X' — the adjective stays put and 'liu' follows. With a focus 'mak' it becomes superlative. Avoid Portuguese-style 'melhor' or 'mais boot'.
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.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Mestre hanorin full-time ka part-time?Does the teacher teach full-time or part-time?
- Estudante sira kumprimenta profesora iha aula laran.The students greets the teacher in the classroom.
- Ha'u hanorin, ha'u gosta envolve estudante sira iha grupu.When I teach, I like to involve the students in groups.
- Aproximasaun mestre sira nian ba estudante importante loos.The approach that teachers make to students is very important.
- Nu'udar mestre ha'u hakarak fasilita ha'u nia estudante hotu atu atinji sira nia potensiál.As a teacher I want to enable all my students to reach their potential.
- Dili Institute of Technology hakarak internasionaliza nia programa sira ne'e hodi dada mestre ho estudante husi rai li'ur hanorin ho eskola iha ne'e.Dili Institute of Technology wants to make its programs international, attracting teachers and students from overseas to teach and study here.