Tonight I was supposed to help Adão with his homework, but I won’t go as I feel too tired. in Tetun
Orsida kalan tuir loos ha'u atu ajuda Adão halo nia servisu uma, maibé ha'u la bá tanba sente kolen demais.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
loosdemaisPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around the verb.
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
- Mateus agora de'ut hela nia matan, tanba ai-luruk mak tama.Mateus is rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, because a prickle has gotten into his eye.
- Nia saláriu hakerek klaru iha kontratu laran.His salary is clearly written in his contract.
- Janio monu ho motor, nia ain tohar.Janio fell off his motorbike and broke his leg.
- Labarik mane ne'e mii tiha ona nia kalsa, favór ajuda troka nia.The boy has peed his pants, please help him change.
- Lita: Nia naran António ka? Ina: Lae, nia naran José.Lita: Is his name António? Ina: No, his name is José.
- Diretór hala'o hela reuniaun mensál ho nia funsionáriu tomak.The director is having his monthly meeting with his staff.