Today teacher Marta is sick, so I am teaching in her place. in Tetun
Ohin loron mestra Marta moras, entaun ha'u mak hanorin fali iha nia fatin.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'
faliPlaced after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.
Focus
mak — focus marker
mak'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.
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.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Nia namoradu ne'e hais nia to'o lima sén mós la iha nia isin!Her boyfriend bled her dry till she didn't even have five cents left on her!
- Tia sikat ulsuku iha fuuk.Auntie stuck her hairpin through her hair.
- Ina ohin la bá eskola, tanba moras.Ina didn't go to school today, as she is sick.
- Ha'u nia oan moras. Favór ida lori ba ospitál.My child is sick. Please take (him/her) to hospital.
- Maria sateia hela de'it nia amá tanba osan.Maria keeps hassling her mother (to give her) money.
- Ohin Maria la mai servisu. Dala ruma nia moras.Today Maria didn’t come to work. Perhaps she is sick.