When a party gets a simple majority, it gets more votes than the other parties, even if it doesn't reach 50% of all votes. in Tetun

Kuandu kandidatu ida hetan maioria simples, nia hetan votu barak liu partidu sira seluk, maski la to'o 50% hosi votu hotu-hotu karik.

English → Tetun phrasebook

Grammar in this phrase

  • Comparison

    liu — comparison 'more / most'

    liu

    Tetun 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.

  • Negation

    la — 'not' (general negation)

    la

    Placed 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.

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.

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