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Questions & Answers about Sobrou pão depois da festa?
What does sobrou mean, and what tense is it?
Sobrou is the third-person singular preterite (simple past) form of the verb sobrar, which means “to remain” or “to be left over.”
Why is there no article before pão?
Here pão is used as a mass noun (“bread” in general), so Portuguese typically omits the article. If you meant a specific loaf, you could say o pão.
Why is the verb sobrou placed before the noun pão?
In Portuguese yes/no questions you can put the verb first and rely on intonation to signal a question. It’s also perfectly correct to ask O pão sobrou depois da festa?, but fronting the verb is common and natural.
Why is it depois da festa instead of depois de a festa?
Portuguese contracts the preposition de with the feminine definite article a, so de + a festa becomes da festa. Thus depois de + a festa → depois da festa.
How can I ask “Did any bread remain after the party?” using algum?
You simply insert algum (“any”) before the noun:
Sobrou algum pão depois da festa?
How would I answer “Sobrou pão depois da festa?” in Portuguese for “Yes, there was a little left” and “No, there was none left”?
Positive reply: Sim, sobrou um pouco de pão.
Negative reply: Não, não sobrou nada.