When I was young, my mother always wove mats from screwpine leaves to dry coffee or for sleeping on. 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

• Habai na'an, la bele maran liu. Haree mar-maran de'it, foti ona.When you dry meat, it mustn't be too dry. When you see it is nearly dry, get it (inside).
• Labarik ne'e konsidera ita hanesan nia inan, ita liu nia sempre kumprimenta ita.This child respect us like his mother. When we go past, he always greets us.
• Maria hadeer mai, sempre dasa ai-luruk iha nia uma oin.When Maria gets up, she always sweeps up the fallen leaves in front of her house.
• Bá hola kafé rahun iha loja para ita halo kafé hemu.Go and get some powdered coffee from the shop so we can make some coffee to drink.
• Ami nia inan rasik mate kleur ona, nune'e ami nia inan hakiak mak tau matan ba ami.Our own mother died a long time ago, so it is our adoptive mother who looks after us.
• Banhira ami la'o dook, ami nia amá sempre fó hanoin ami atu lori bukae.When we are going to travel a long way, our mother always reminds us to bring food for the journey.