This nail is too tight to loosen with a hammer, perhaps you can use a long-handled one. in Tetun
Pregu ne'e toos liu atu losu ho martelu, karik bele losu ho ai-suak bibi ain.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Comparison
liu — comparison 'more / most'
liuTetun comparison uses 'X liu Y' not 'mais X' — the adjective stays put and 'liu' follows. With a focus 'mak' it becomes superlative. Avoid Portuguese-style 'melhor' or 'mais boot'.
Conditionals
se / karik — conditionals
karik'se' opens a definite conditional ('if X, then Y'). 'karik' sits at the end of a clause and hedges it ('perhaps'); it can also mark an uncertain conditional.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- Di'ak ida nia mai, di'ak ida la mai.Perhaps he'll come, perhaps he won't.
- Oan, lolo masin mai ha'u atu ha'u bele uza.Son, hand me the salt so I can use it.
- Pai hola pregu hodi prega meza.My father bought a nail to nail the table.
- Ami uza kareta ne'e ba ami nia an.We use this car for ourselves (i.e. for private use).
- Kala nia mak konta istória ne'e. Ha'u lae.Perhaps he was the one who told that story. I didn’t.
- Tuur duka mai, para ema seluk mós bele tuur.Move over closer to me, so that other people can sit too.