The motorbike has run out of petrol, and needs to be filled up at the petrol station. in Tetun
Motór nia mina maran ona, presiza bá enxe iha pertamina.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
ona — 'already' (perfective)
onaPlaced after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.
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
- Motór nia mina maran loos, ita lori ba enxe tiha lai.The motorbike has run out of petrol. Let’s take it to fill it up.
- Ó nia tanke mina kuak, karik ne'e mak mina naksuli hela de'it.Your petrol tank has a hole in it. Perhaps that's why petrol keeps leaking out.
- Ita la'o kalan, kuidadu rama ambon.If you go out at night, watch out for metal darts.
- 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.
- Ha'u nia motór aat ona.My motorbike is broken
- Uza alkati hodi losu pregu.Use the pliers to pull out nails.