Breakdown of O professor nos ensina português.
português
Portuguese
o professor
the teacher
ensinar
to teach
nos
us
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Questions & Answers about O professor nos ensina português.
What does nos mean in the sentence, and what is its function?
Nos is a first person plural object pronoun meaning “us” in English. In the sentence O professor nos ensina português, it indicates that the teacher teaches Portuguese to us. The pronoun directly receives the action of the verb.
Why is the verb ensina in the third person singular form?
The verb ensina is in the third person singular because its subject, O professor, is singular. In Portuguese, the verb must agree with the subject in both number and person, so ensina properly matches the singular subject “the teacher.”
How is the placement of nos in this sentence different from how object pronouns are placed in English?
In Portuguese, clitic object pronouns like nos are usually placed before the conjugated verb in affirmative statements. In contrast, English places object pronouns after the verb. Thus, O professor nos ensina português literally translates to “The professor teaches us Portuguese,” but while English positions “us” after the verb, Portuguese positions nos immediately before ensina.
Why is there no article before português in this sentence?
In Portuguese, names of languages are typically used without preceding articles. So português naturally refers to the Portuguese language without needing an article. This is similar to how we say “I speak English” in English without an article before English.
Can you explain the overall structure of the sentence and highlight any key grammatical points?
Certainly! The sentence O professor nos ensina português follows the Subject–Pronoun–Verb–Object order: • O professor is the subject. • Nos is the object pronoun (meaning “us”) placed before the verb. • Ensina is the third person singular form of the verb ensinar because of the singular subject. • Português is the object of the verb, referring to the language. Key points include the placement of clitic pronouns before the conjugated verb in Portuguese and the agreement between the subject and the verb form.