You can’t just accuse people if you don’t have strong evidence. in Tetun
La bele du'un matak ema karik ita la iha evidénsia ne'ebé forte.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced 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.
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.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- Keta naran du'un ema karik ita la hatene problema ne'e nia lala'ok.Don’t arbitrarily accuse people if you don’t know the problem in-depth.
- Inan-aman hanorin la rona ta'uk mak la'o sala dalan de'it.Parents educating you but when you don’t pay attention just be careful just be careful that you don’t go astray.
- Se ita nia lider iha kompleksu dé inferioridade maka'as, sei susar tebes defende interese povu nian, tanba la brani kontra ema hosi grupu seluk.If our leaders have a strong inferiority complex, it is difficult for them to defend the interests of the people, because they don't have the courage to oppose people from other groups.
- Ema tama mate nabanaban, to'o uma laran ema nakonu.People just kept coming in, until the house was full of people.
- Ó la bele konta sai ba ema seluk tanba ida ne'e buat uma laran nian.You can't tell other people, because this is just within the family.
- Ema rame-rame iha tasi ibun kanta no dansa. Nusaa imi la bá hamutuk ho sira? Imi toba de'it iha uma.People are in a lively group on the beach singing and dancing. Why don’t you go join them? You just sleep at home.