When voting has finished, staff classify the ballot papers, separating out the ballot papers for each party. in Tetun
Bainhira votasaun hotu ona, staf klasifika surat vota, hodi rai ketaketak surat vota nian tuir partidu ida-idak.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
ona — 'already' (perfective)
onaPlaced after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nian'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.
Time expressions
Temporal connectors
bainhiraCommon time words: 'bainhira / kuandu' = when; 'molok / antes' = before; 'depois' and 'liu tiha' = after; 'kedas' = immediately; 'foin' = only just, very recently; 'kleur' = a long time.
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
- Votante sira hatama surat vota ne'ebé sira marka tiha ona, iha kaixa vota ne'e.The voters insert the ballot papers which they have marked into the ballot box.
- Sira hirus malu to'o ida-ida buka fatuk hodi tuda malu.They were angry at each other, to the extent that they each looked for rocks and threw them at each other.
- Votasaun remata tuku haat.The voting finished at four o’clock.
- Ita la'o kalan, kuidadu rama ambon.If you go out at night, watch out for metal darts.
- Faru ne'e haree hanesan bosan tiha ona, la bele uza ba festa.This top looks like it’s worn out. You can’t wear it to a party.
- Rama oan tama ó nia isin, sai araska, tenke koá sai.If an arrow goes into your body, it’s hard to get it out. It has to be cut out.