Breakdown of Eu acabei de comprar o leite no supermercado.
Questions & Answers about Eu acabei de comprar o leite no supermercado.
Yes—acabar literally means to finish / to end. In Brazilian Portuguese, the structure acabar de + infinitive is an idiom that expresses the recent past:
- Eu acabei de comprar... = I just bought... (i.e., moments ago)
It’s similar to “I’ve just…” in English, but Portuguese commonly uses it with the present tense of acabar.
Acabei is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) form of acabar: eu acabei = I finished / I ended.
In acabei de + infinitive, Portuguese treats the “just did” idea as something that was completed very recently, so it uses that completed form:
- Eu acabei de comprar = I just bought / I’ve just bought
You can also hear the present tense version in some contexts (eu acabo de comprar), but in Brazil the most common everyday phrasing is eu acabei de comprar.
You can drop Eu if the context is clear, because the verb ending already shows the subject:
- Acabei de comprar o leite no supermercado.
Including Eu can add emphasis or clarity (especially if multiple people are being discussed).
Because acabar de must be followed by an infinitive:
- acabei de + comprar (infinitive)
You wouldn’t normally say acabei de comprei (that mixes structures). If you want a simple past without the “just” nuance, you’d say:
- Comprei o leite no supermercado. = I bought the milk at the supermarket.
In this expression, de is required: acabar de + infinitive.
Think of it as part of a fixed pattern meaning to have just done something:
- acabei de chegar = I just arrived
- acabei de falar = I just spoke / I just talked
Portuguese uses articles more often than English. o leite is very natural when referring to a specific, expected item (like “the milk” you intended to buy).
You can also say comprei leite if you mean milk in a more general/indefinite sense:
- Comprei leite. = I bought (some) milk.
- Comprei o leite. = I bought the milk (the one you needed / the one we talked about)
Both are possible; the article changes the nuance.
no is a contraction of em + o:
- em (in/at) + o (the) → no
So:
- no supermercado = in/at the supermarket
This contraction is mandatory in standard Portuguese when em is followed by o / a / os / as:
- na = em + a
- nos = em + os
- nas = em + as
Yes, you can swap the place phrase:
- Eu acabei de comprar o leite no mercado. (more general, “market”)
- ...na loja. (“store”)
- ...na padaria. (“bakery,” sometimes sells milk too)
The grammar stays the same; only the location changes.
Not exactly:
- no supermercado = at/in the supermarket (location where you bought it)
- ao supermercado = to the supermarket (movement/destination)
Compare:
- Comprei o leite no supermercado. = you bought it there
- Fui ao supermercado comprar leite. = you went there to buy it
A natural negative is:
- Eu não acabei de comprar o leite no supermercado.
But depending on what you mean, Portuguese speakers might prefer alternatives like:
- Eu não comprei o leite agora há pouco. = I didn’t buy the milk a moment ago.
- Eu ainda não comprei o leite. = I still haven’t bought the milk. (different meaning)
You can keep the same word order and use intonation:
- Você acabou de comprar o leite no supermercado? = Did you just buy the milk at the supermarket?
Or add a question word:
- Onde você acabou de comprar o leite? = Where did you just buy the milk?
- Você acabou de comprar leite? = Did you just buy milk?
A few common points (varies by region):
- acabei is stressed on the last syllable: a-ca-BEI
- de is often reduced in fast speech (it may sound like dji / di depending on accent)
- comprar ends with an “r” that may sound softer or more “h-like” in many Brazilian accents
A natural rhythm often sounds like: Eu acaBEI de comPRAR o LEIte no supermerCAdo.