O cardume tem uma espécie de peixe ornamental.

to have

Breakdown of O cardume tem uma espécie de peixe ornamental.

• uma: a
• o peixe ornamental: the ornamental fish
• o cardume: the school of fish

Questions & Answers about O cardume tem uma espécie de peixe ornamental.

Why is it o cardume and not a cardume?

Because cardume is a masculine noun in Portuguese, so it takes o in the singular.

• o cardume = the school/shoal
• um cardume = a school/shoal

This is something you just have to learn with the noun, since grammatical gender in Portuguese does not always match any logical pattern.

What exactly is cardume?

Cardume is a collective noun that refers to a school/shoal of fish. It does not mean one fish. It refers to a group moving together.

So in grammar terms, it is singular, even though it refers to many fish:

• O cardume tem... = singular verb, because cardume is singular
• not O cardume têm...

This is similar to English words like group or team, which are singular in form but refer to multiple members.

Why is the verb tem singular?

Because the subject is o cardume, and cardume is grammatically singular.

• o cardume tem
• os cardumes têm

Even though a school contains many fish, Portuguese agrees the verb with the noun cardume, not with the individual fish inside it.

Why does tem mean has here? Can it also mean there is/are?