Distribuímos as cartas de jogo.

In Portuguese, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• Distribuímos = we distribute / we distributed
• So nós is understood, even though it is not written.

You could say:

• Nós distribuímos as cartas de jogo.

But in natural Brazilian Portuguese, leaving out nós is very common unless you want emphasis or contrast.

It can mean either one.

With distribuir, the form distribuímos is the same in:

• present indicative = we distribute
• preterite = we distributed

So the sentence can mean either present or past, depending on context.

For example:

• Agora distribuímos as cartas de jogo. = Now we distribute the playing cards.
• Ontem distribuímos as cartas de jogo. = Yesterday we distributed the playing cards.

Portuguese sometimes relies on context or time words to make this clear.

The accent in distribuímos shows where the stress goes and helps separate the vowels correctly.

It is pronounced roughly like:

• dis-tri-bu-Í-mos

The í is stressed, and the u and í are pronounced in separate syllables.

Without the accent, a learner might not know how to stress it properly. This is especially important in verbs like distribuir, construir, and possuir.

Cartas is a feminine plural noun, so its article must also be feminine plural:

• a carta = the card / the letter
• as cartas = the cards

That is why you use as, not os.

You can also leave out the article in some contexts:

• Distribuímos cartas de jogo.

That sounds more like we distributed playing cards in a general sense.

But:

• Distribuímos as cartas de jogo.

suggests specific cards, such as the cards for a particular game.

De jogo literally means of game or for playing, and it works like a descriptive phrase modifying cartas.

So cartas de jogo means:

• game cards
• more naturally in English, playing cards

Portuguese often uses de + noun where English might use an adjective:

• mesa de madeira = wooden table
• sapato de couro = leather shoe
• cartas de jogo = playing cards / game cards

It is understandable, but many Brazilians would more naturally say:

• cartas de baralho

because baralho means deck of cards.

So depending on the context, a more idiomatic sentence might be:

• Distribuímos as cartas do baralho.
• Distribuímos as cartas de baralho.

Still, cartas de jogo is grammatically fine and understandable, especially if you are talking about cards used in a game in a broad sense.

This is the normal Portuguese word order:

• Verb + object

So:

• Distribuímos = we distributed / we distribute
• as cartas de jogo = the playing cards

You could change the order for emphasis, but the basic sentence is most natural as written.

For example:

• Nós distribuímos as cartas de jogo. = adds the subject explicitly
• As cartas de jogo, distribuímos depois. = marked/emphatic, not the neutral order

For a learner, the original sentence is the standard pattern to remember.

Yes, carta can mean both letter and card, depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• carta = letter
• carta de baralho = playing card
• carta de restaurante or carta de vinhos = menu / wine list in some contexts

In this sentence, de jogo makes it clear that cartas means cards, not letters.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• jees-tree-boo-EE-moos az KAR-tas djee ZHO-goo

A few helpful points:

• distribuímos has the stress on í
• as may sound more like az before the voiced sound in cartas in connected speech
• de often sounds like djee in many Brazilian accents
• jogo begins with the soft Portuguese j sound, like the s in measure

A more natural rhythm would be:

• dis-tri-bu-Í-mos as CAR-tas de JO-go

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Distribuímos as cartas de jogo = we distribute / we distributed the playing cards
• Estamos distribuindo as cartas de jogo = we are distributing the playing cards

So the second version emphasizes that the action is happening right now, in progress.

Brazilian Portuguese often uses estar + gerund for ongoing actions, much like English uses to be + -ing.