You’d better work, lest the boss suddenly return and find you just hanging around. in Tetun

Grammar in this phrase

• Aspect markers

  hela — 'currently' or 'reside'

  hela

  After a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.

• 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'.

• Prohibition & permission

  keta / lalika / la bele — prohibition

  keta

  Three strengths of 'don't': 'lalika(n)' is softest — 'no need to, don't bother'. 'keta' is a direct prohibitive command. 'la bele' = 'not allowed, must not'.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

Related phrases

• Nia loron-kalan halimar de'it.He just plays around all the time (he doesn't work).
• Ó tuur hanesan bos de'it, la hatene halo servisu, hein han de'it!You're just sitting there like a boss, not working, just waiting to be fed!
• Ohin ami haree bani semo iha ami nia uma leten.We just saw a bee flying around in our house.
• Labarik sira fila hosi eskola, gosta halimar de'it.When the children return from school, they like to just play.
• Mestre Mario dada an hosi nia servisu tanba la gosta nia xefe.Teacher Mario resigned from his work as he didn’t like his boss.
• Ita servisu iha rai li'ur, bele manán osan boot maibé servisu todan.If we work overseas, we can earn a lot of money, but the work is hard.