The next contestant will play the music of "Beloved Mother" in the key of C. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Aspect markers

  sei — 'will' or 'still'

  sei

  Tetun has no verb conjugation. Aspect and tense are marked by particles. 'sei' sits immediately before the verb — marking a definite future ('will') or a continuative ('still'). Combine with 'hela' after the verb for ongoing action. Negation is 'sei la' = 'will not'.

• 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

• Ita hotu la hatene saida mak akontese iha loron tuir mai.None of us know what will happen the next day.
• Se ó ko'alia liafuan aat ba ó nia amá, sei kona malisan.If you swear at your mother, you will be under a curse.
• Sira sei halo kordenasaun ho sira nia xefe depois mak fó desizaun.They will coordinate with their boss, then they will make a decision.
• Ami nia inan rasik mate kleur ona, nune'e ami nia inan hakiak mak tau matan ba ami.Our own mother died a long time ago, so it is our adoptive mother who looks after us.
• Ita sei liu iha imigrasaun hodi revista ita nia sasán hotu mak foin ita bele sai ba li'ur.We will go through immigration where they will inspect our goods before we can go outside.
• Semana ne'e ami kala-kalan ensaiu tanba Domingu oin ami nia koru mak kanta.This week we have choir practice every evening as next Sunday it is our choir that will sing (in church).