The organising committee for the feast of St Michael have decided to purchase lots of new chairs. in Tetun
Komisaun organizadora ba festa São Miguel nian deside katak sira sei sosa kadeira foun barak.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
sei — 'will' or 'still'
seiTetun 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
nian'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
- Komisaun organizadóra konvida membru sira hotu atu mai dada rifa atu manán prémiu.The organizing committee invited all the members to come and draw lots to win a prize.
- Prezidente komisaun B, hamutuk ho membru komisaun na'in haat, horiseik dezloka ba Bali atu partisipa iha konferénsia ne'e.Yesterday the chair of committee B, together with four committee members, travelled to Bali to participate in this conference.
- Ita koñese diretór foun ne'e ka lae?Do you know this new director?
- Ha'u haree manu knuuk iha ai-leten barak.I see lots of nests in the tree.
- Ha'u iha tusan barak liu. = Ha'u nia tusan barak liu.I am in lots of debt (to others).
- Ha'u sosa kasete ida ne'ebé múzika mesak fou-foun de'it.I bought a cassette full of new songs.