Breakdown of O aluguel foi pago cedo, então eu pude ir ao supermercado tranquilo.
Questions & Answers about O aluguel foi pago cedo, então eu pude ir ao supermercado tranquilo.
Foi pago is the passive voice in the past: the rent was paid. It focuses on the rent being taken care of, not on who paid it.
- Active: Eu paguei o aluguel cedo. (I paid the rent early.)
- Passive: O aluguel foi pago cedo. (The rent was paid early.)
In Portuguese, the passive is common when the doer is unknown, irrelevant, or you want to emphasize the result.
Not exactly.
- foi pago = an action/event happened (it got paid).
- estava/tava pago = a state/condition (it was already paid at that time).
Example difference: - Quando cheguei, o aluguel foi pago. = it got paid (around that moment).
- Quando cheguei, o aluguel já estava pago. = it was already paid (state).
Because aluguel is masculine: o aluguel. The past participle in the passive (pago/paga/pagos/pagas) agrees with the noun:
- O aluguel foi pago.
- A conta foi paga.
- Os aluguéis foram pagos.
- As contas foram pagas.
cedo means early and it modifies the action foi pago (the paying happened early). It’s flexible in position:
- O aluguel foi pago cedo. (most neutral)
- O aluguel cedo foi pago. (possible but sounds more formal/marked)
- Cedo, o aluguel foi pago. (emphasis on early)
Because então introduces a result clause (so/therefore). A comma is very common to separate the two parts:
O aluguel foi pago cedo, então eu pude...
You could also write it with a period or semicolon for a stronger break:
O aluguel foi pago cedo. Então eu pude...
pude is the preterite (simple past) of poder: I was able to / I managed to. It suggests a completed, successful ability in that situation.
- posso = present (I can)
- podia = imperfect (I could / I used to be able to; often background or ongoing)
Compare: - Eu pude ir = I managed to go (it worked out).
- Eu podia ir, mas não fui = I could go (in theory), but I didn’t.
Because ao is a contraction of a + o:
- ir a (to go to) + o supermercado = ir ao supermercado
Other common contractions: - a + a = à (e.g., ir à praia)
- a + os = aos
- a + as = às
In Brazilian Portuguese, both appear in speech, but they can sound slightly different:
- ir ao supermercado (more standard/neutral for “go to”)
- ir no supermercado is common colloquially and can sound like “go (over there) and be there/do something there.”
In writing and careful speech, ir ao is usually preferred.
Yes: tranquilo describes the subject (eu) and means calm/at ease/not worried. It’s like saying:
...eu pude ir ao supermercado (estando) tranquilo.
Portuguese often drops estando/ficando and just uses the adjective.
Both are possible, but the meaning shifts slightly:
- tranquilo (adjective about you) = you felt calm while going.
- tranquilamente (adverb about the action) = you did it calmly / without trouble.
In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, ir ... tranquilo is very natural.
Yes. já means already, emphasizing that by that point the rent payment was done:
- O aluguel foi pago cedo = it was paid early (timing emphasis).
- O aluguel já foi pago = it’s already been paid (completion emphasis).
You can combine them: O aluguel já foi pago cedo (less common), or more naturally: O aluguel já tinha sido pago cedo depending on the timeline.