We came back in the middle of the night as we were at a friend’s party. 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

• Ema ne'e mate ki'ik tiha durante minutu lima mak moris fali.That person was unconscious for five minutes then came back to consciousness.
• Hori kalan joven barak hafuhu festa iha Salaun Esperansa.Last night lots of young people spied on the party at Esperansa Reception Hall.
• Hori kalan na'ok-teen selok ami nia odamatan hodi tama mai na'ok sasán.Last night a thief forced open our door (with a lever) and came in to steal things.
• Mana Joana hori kalan bá festa hatais reb-rebo halo ita oin halai fali.Last night going to a party, older sister Joana dressed so flashily that it made us dizzy!
• Sé nia manu mak kokoreek iha tempu kalan boot hanesan ne'e? Buat ruma la loos ona.Whose rooster was crowing in the middle of the night like this? It means something is not right.
• Ó bá fali uma!Go back home!