Toni elbowed me first, and only then did I hit him. in Tetun
Toni siku uluk ha'u mak ha'u baku nia.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
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
- Ha'u tenke te'in lai. Depois mak ita na'in rua bá pasiar.I have to cook first. Only then can the two of us go out.
- Ha'u foin primeira vés mai iha Dili.I’ve come to Dili for only the first time.
- Hatama imi nia invoice mai, depois mak ami prosesa.Put in your invoice first, and then we'll process it.
- Habosok labarik toba tiha lai mak ó han.Distract the child into sleeping first, and then you can eat.
- Ha'u sei bá kaza dé banhu lai, depois mak ita la'o hamutuk.I will go to the bathroom first, then we can go walking together.
- Ideia sira ne'e, ita akumula hotu, mak foin ita foti konkluzaun.We'll gather all these ideas together, and only then reach a conclusion.