Alguns estudantes gostam de caminhar na cidade bonita.

Some students like to walk in the beautiful city.

Breakdown of Alguns estudantes gostam de caminhar na cidade bonita.

• gostar de: to like
• caminhar: to walk
• na: in
• a cidade: the city
• bonito: beautiful
• alguns: some
• o estudante: the student

Questions & Answers about Alguns estudantes gostam de caminhar na cidade bonita.

Why does the sentence use Alguns estudantes instead of Algumas estudantes?

In Portuguese, estudantes is a gender-neutral plural word that can refer to any group of students, whether mixed or all male. You choose Alguns (masculine plural) if you are talking about a mixed group or a group of male students. If you knew the group was entirely female, you could say Algumas estudantes.

Why is there a de after gostam?

In Portuguese, the verb gostar usually requires the preposition de before another verb or a noun. So to say “like to walk,” you need gostam de caminhar. Without de, the sentence would be ungrammatical.

What does na in na cidade mean?

Na is a contraction of em + a, meaning “in the.” So na cidade translates to “in the city.” If you split it out, it would be em a cidade, but Portuguese grammar requires you to combine these words into one: na.

Why does the adjective bonita come after cidade?

In Portuguese, the adjective often follows the noun. Saying cidade bonita is the standard word order, meaning “beautiful city.” While adjectives can come before the noun in certain cases (to add emphasis or poetic style), most commonly you’ll place them after the noun.

Is there another way to say “walk” in this sentence?

Yes, you could use andar instead of caminhar, so the sentence could become Alguns estudantes gostam de andar na cidade bonita. Both verbs work, but caminhar is often used for a more leisurely walk, while andar can have a broader sense of moving on foot.