Meu filho esqueceu a escova de dentes na escola, então eu comprei outra perto de casa.

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Breakdown of Meu filho esqueceu a escova de dentes na escola, então eu comprei outra perto de casa.

• comprar: to buy
• meu: my
• perto de: near

Questions & Answers about Meu filho esqueceu a escova de dentes na escola, então eu comprei outra perto de casa.

Why does the sentence start with meu filho instead of o meu filho?

In Brazilian Portuguese, possessives can appear with or without the definite article.

• meu filho = my son
• o meu filho = my son

Both are possible, but meu filho is very common and natural in Brazil. Adding o can sound a little more specific, emphatic, or regional, depending on the context.

So in this sentence, meu filho is just the normal, natural way to say it.

What tense is esqueceu, and why is it used here?

Esqueceu is the preterite form of esquecer for ele/ela/você:

• eu esqueci = I forgot
• ele esqueceu = he forgot

The preterite is used because this is a completed action in the past: the son forgot the toothbrush at school.

So:

• Meu filho esqueceu... = My son forgot...

If you used the imperfect, it would suggest a repeated or ongoing past situation, which is not the idea here.

Why is it a escova de dentes and not just escova de dentes?

The article a is used because the sentence refers to a specific toothbrush: the one the son forgot.

• a escova de dentes = the toothbrush

Portuguese often uses definite articles in places where English might or might not use them. Here it sounds completely natural because we are talking about a particular item.

Without the article, it would sound less natural in this sentence.