Breakdown of No mercado, a caixa perguntou se eu queria o recibo.
eu
I
querer
to want
o mercado
the market
se
if
Questions & Answers about No mercado, a caixa perguntou se eu queria o recibo.
What does no mercado mean exactly, and why is it no instead of em o?
No is a contraction of em + o.
- em = in, at
- o = the
- no = in the / at the
So no mercado means at the market or in the market. In Brazilian Portuguese, contractions like this are very common and usually required:
- em + o = no
- em + a = na
- em + os = nos
- em + as = nas
So you would not normally say em o mercado.
Does mercado mean a supermarket, a street market, or just any market?
It can mean different kinds of market, depending on context.
In Brazilian Portuguese, mercado often means a supermarket or grocery store in everyday speech. But it can also mean a marketplace more generally.
So in this sentence, No mercado would usually be understood as something like At the supermarket unless the wider context suggests another kind of market.
Why is there a comma after No mercado?