Why did you have to make up so many stories, making them dislike me? in Tetun

Nusaa mak ó tenke inventa liafuan bar-barak hodi halo sira la gosta fali ha'u?

English → Tetun phrasebook

Grammar in this phrase

  • Aspect markers

    fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'

    fali

    Placed after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.

  • Focus

    mak — focus marker

    mak

    'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.

  • 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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