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Eu gosto da mesa grande.

Eu gosto da mesa grande.
I like the big table.
FromLesson 1inHardcore Portuguese (Brazil)

Breakdown of Eu gosto da mesa grande.

eu
I
gostar de
to like
grande
big
mesa
table
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Questions & Answers about Eu gosto da mesa grande.

Why do we say da instead of de a in Eu gosto da mesa grande?
In Portuguese, the preposition de and the definite article a merge into da. So whenever you have de + a, they contract to da. That’s why you see da mesa instead of de a mesa.
Why do we need the article in da mesa? Could we just say Eu gosto de mesa grande?
In Portuguese, you generally need the definite article before a noun when talking about a specific item, like a mesa grande (the big table). Saying Eu gosto de mesa grande would sound unnatural because it lacks the definite article to specify which table. The correct form is Eu gosto da mesa grande, referring to that particular table.
Why does the adjective grande come after mesa?
In Portuguese, it’s most common for adjectives to follow the noun. So you say mesa grande. While you can place an adjective before the noun for emphasis or stylistic reasons, the natural word order is noun + adjective. Hence, mesa grande is the usual order.
Can we omit Eu and just say Gosto da mesa grande?
Yes. In Portuguese, subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb form gosto already indicates the first-person singular. So Gosto da mesa grande is perfectly acceptable and commonly used in everyday speech.
How is gosto conjugated, and why is it spelled that way?

Gosto is the first-person singular present-tense form of the verb gostar. The infinitive is gostar, and it’s conjugated as:
• Eu gosto
• Você/Ele/Ela gosta
• Nós gostamos
• Vocês/Eles/Elas gostam

The ending -o is the regular ending for the first-person singular in the present tense.