Examples of Nen

‘The man covered the child with the mat.’

‘I filled the cup with water.’

‘I'm about to cover myself.’

‘The cup has been filled with water.’

‘The small-necked bottle is difficult to fill.’

‘The broad-necked bottle is easy to fill.’

‘The cup is full of water.’

‘I'm tying up both his hands.’

‘Start tying it!’

‘He poured the water out of the cup.’

‘He's trying to carry all those yams.’

‘The water has poured out of the cup.’

‘It's pouring out of the cup.’

‘I threw the stone inside, through the window.’

‘I threw a stone at the goanna and hit it.’

‘I threw a stone at the goanna and missed.’

‘I brought/carried the book to the teacher.’

‘I brought it for you.’

‘Bring the child to me!’

‘He took me to Morehead in a truck.’

‘He will take the child to him/her.’

‘I send the money to my brother.’

‘I'm sending it now.’

‘I've already sent the letter.’

‘I sent him (a letter).’

‘We used to send each other letters.’

‘I sent him away (for being bad).’

‘She gave a fish to him (to the teacher).’

‘She gave me a fish.’

‘She gave me a fish.’

‘She gave the teacher the fish (and it reached him).’

‘She showed the fish to the teacher / to him.’

‘That man showed (him) two coconuts.’

‘I gave the three men a fish.’

‘I gave the two men a fish.’

‘He showed them the coconut.’

‘He showed the two of them one coconut.’

‘The child got/took the fish from his mother.’

‘This child took my knife.’

‘A man is carrying a pig.’

‘I can hear the sound of a bamboo flute.’

‘The boy stole a man's food.’

‘In that village people steal each other's food.’

‘We hid the sacred stones from the foreigners / for fear of the foreigners.’

‘He was about to steal/hide the food.’

‘The children hid.’

‘He tore the handle from the bag.’

‘This bag tore.’

‘This bag got torn.’

‘I wiped the mud with the bark.’

‘I wiped the mud off the mat.’

‘I cut (up) the animal meat.’

‘The two of them are cutting themselves/each other.’

‘I got/cut on the leg.’

‘He got cut. / He cut himself.’

‘I cut a piece of your meat for myself.’

‘The boy touched the girl on the hand.’

‘The boy touched the snake with a stick.’

‘The two poles are touching each other.’

‘I am touching myself on the nose.’

‘The child hit/beat the snake with a stick.’

‘I got hit on the shoulder.’

‘This is the man who killed the snake.’

‘The boy killed the snake.’

‘I broke a step of the ladder.’

‘This wood breaks easily.’

‘One step of the ladder broke.’

‘The man built a paperbark house.’

‘I didn't say anything to the girl.’

‘You shout out to Blag because of the fish!’

‘Shout at Blag (e.g. not to do something)!’

‘Shout out/command to Blag not to miss/skip church.’

‘Shout out to Blag for fish!’

‘He told (me) a story.’

‘He is talking.’

‘The man talked to the boy about the girl.’

‘I told him to go.’

‘I asked Idaba where his wife was, in the garden or in the forest.’

‘The man knows that boy.’

‘Those two men know each other.’

‘I know how to beat/work sago.’

‘I knew he would come.’

‘I saw him yesterday.’

‘You saw us yesterday.’

‘We'll see each other again tomorrow.’

‘I saw myself yesterday (e.g. a picture of myself).’

‘We saw each other last year.’

‘I looked at the flower.’

‘Come(PL) and look at yourselves/each other!’

‘That man is going to frighten the crocodile.’

‘I went out hunting last night, but didn't find anything.’

‘I was thinking of something last year (it took me a long time to figure it out).’

‘I will think of you tomorrow.’

‘The boy likes/loves the girl.’

‘That boy likes singing.’

‘I looked for the key in vain.’

‘The man looked in vain for his lost son.’

‘Grmbo went hunting for a deer in the night.’

‘The man secretly met the girl in the forest path.’

‘He and the girl will meet in secret on a forest path.’

‘I accidentally met my enemy on a bush track.’

‘The man followed the girl.’

‘The three children are following each other in a straight line.’

‘He is following behind.’

‘Friend, help me!’

‘Jesus, help me!’

‘People in this village help each other.’

‘I helped the old man climb the ladder.’

‘The child ate the yam.’

‘The starving dogs eat one another.’

‘I tied two ropes.’

‘It got hooked/tied.’

‘I broke the coconut open.’

‘The bushfowl egg got broken.’

‘The girl dressed the child.’

‘The girl got dressed.’

‘The girl washed the child yesterday.’

‘The man washed/bathed yesterday.’

‘The man coughed.’

‘The man climbed the ladder (ascended by means of the ladder).’

‘The man took the child up the ladder onto the balcony.’

‘The man sat (down) on the mat yesterday.’

‘He was sitting on the mat (not long ago).’

‘The man sat the two children on the mat yesterday.’

‘I ran all the way to Dimsisi village.’

‘I jumped onto the fence.’

‘The children were playing, jumping.’

‘The boy lived in the village.’

‘The boy sang a song yesterday.’

‘The boy sang a love song for the girl.’

‘Yesterday a boy appeared on the road.’

‘Yesterday a cassowary suddenly appeared and passed to the other side of the road.’

‘An angel appeared to Mary.’

‘If a taipan bites you, you will die.’

‘In 2006 Wena fell down to the ground from up in a two-leaf tree.’

‘Rain is falling, making a swishing noise.’

‘Binzawa named his child / passed on his name to his child.’

‘I am hungry.’

‘My whole body is feeling sick.’

‘I feel sad.’

‘The water is boiling.’

‘Bring the knife!’

‘Two pieces of charcoal are burning.’

‘The fire flared up; it's caught fire.’

‘I'm going to burn the grassland today.’

‘You two cook food on the fire!’

‘He told me to cook the food.’

‘You two are cooking for yourselves, cooking (for your own benefit).’

‘The baby is crying.’

‘I cry.’

‘The two of us dug the ground.’

‘I'm feeling frightened.’

‘Magdalen's little girl felt really cold inside the baby sling.’

‘The pains in my hand are hurting my whole body.’

‘I'm going to the savannah to burn off.’

‘We two are laughing.’

‘He's left/divorced his wife.’

‘Friend, I left your bicycle by the river bank.’

‘I've left my wife.’

‘We divorced (each other)/ left each other.’

‘The boys are tying up Kamgo's fence.’

‘God made the earth.’

‘She / the two of them are scraping the skin off the yam.’

‘The two children are playing.’

‘We (two) pushed the log aside.’

‘He put the cassava inside a black palm container.’

‘Here are 36 of Jimmy's eating yams inside the yam house.’

‘He's about to go to sleep.’

‘I got this bag from my aunty.’

‘We (two) rolled the log aside.’

‘That man is sitting.’

‘Sit on the mat!’

‘I sat it on the mat.’

‘I smell you.’

‘Two dogs are sniffing each other.’

‘He was teaching us to tie the door post string of a yam house with string.’

‘I'm teaching her my language.’

‘I am learning Nen.’

‘He wants to stand up.’

‘He wants to stand up.’

‘He can hear the sound of a flute.’

‘He is listening carefully to the recording to know whether we have translated the Nen correctly or not.’