The police are investigating Carlos because there is an accusation that he has killed someone. in Tetun
Polísia investiga Carlos tanba iha akuzasaun katak nia oho mate ema.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
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.
Verb sequences
Result-verb sequences (baku mate, tiru mate)
oho mateTransitive verb + intransitive verb = action + result. 'baku mate' = beat to death; 'tiru mate' = shoot dead; 'duni sai' = chase out. Keep the two verbs adjacent.
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
- Agora rai tarutu, tanba udan mai dadaun.Now there is thunder, because rain is coming.
- Uluk rai halai iha Tutuala halo ema na'in rua mate.Once there was a landslide in Tutuala which killed two people.
- Ha'u nia naran dois ona, tanba ema tula liafuan ida mai ha'u.My name has been sullied, because someone accused me (falsely).
- Ami te'in uitoan-uitoan de'it, tanba hahán la to'o.We only cooked a little at a time, because there was not enough food.
- Ha'u gosta tuir misa iha igreja ida ne'e tanba iha haklaken na'in ida ne'ebé di'ak.I like attending mass in this church because there is a good preacher.
- Hori kalan ha'u hariis iha Maubisse, ha'u nakdedar loos tanba malirin pár mate.Last night I bathed in Maubisse, and shivered because it so cold there.