They will finish their work at the end of January. 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

• Sira sei halo kordenasaun ho sira nia xefe depois mak fó desizaun.They will coordinate with their boss, then they will make a decision.
• Sira servisu oin la moos hotu tanba simu subornu.They are not doing their work properly because they received bribes.
• Sira hotu han to'o bosu. Han tiha, sira mós fahe malu.They all ate until they were satisfied. Having eaten, they went their separate ways.
• La bele hanaruk tan sira nia kontratu, tanba sira servisu la di'ak!Don't extend their contract, because they don't work well!
• Sira sempre manifesta sira nia fidelidade ba sira nia lider.They always demonstrate their faithfulness to their leader.
• Sira foin tama servisu ne'e, sira dependente loos ba konselleiru.When they first started this work, they were very dependent on advisors.