Breakdown of Eu lhe enviei o anexo por e-mail, mas o link do site ainda não abre.
Questions & Answers about Eu lhe enviei o anexo por e-mail, mas o link do site ainda não abre.
What does lhe mean here, and why isn’t it te or você?
Lhe is an indirect object pronoun. In this sentence, it means to you:
- Eu lhe enviei o anexo = I sent you the attachment
- more literally: I sent the attachment to you
The verb enviar often works like this:
- enviar algo a alguém = to send something to someone
So:
- o anexo = the thing sent
- lhe = the person receiving it
Why not te?
- Te is also possible if the speaker is addressing you informally.
- Lhe sounds more formal, more written, and is common in professional communication.
Why not você?
- Você is a subject pronoun, not the normal object pronoun in this structure.
- You could say enviei o anexo para você, which is very natural in Brazilian Portuguese.
So these are all possible, with different styles:
- Eu lhe enviei o anexo
- Eu te enviei o anexo
- Eu enviei o anexo para você
In Brazil, para você is extremely common in everyday speech.
Why is it lhe enviei instead of enviei-lhe?
Both are grammatically possible, but lhe enviei is much more natural in modern Brazilian Portuguese, especially in writing that sounds normal and current.
Portuguese object pronouns can appear:
- before the verb: lhe enviei
- after the verb: enviei-lhe
In Brazil, before the verb is usually preferred in most everyday contexts.
So:
- Eu lhe enviei o anexo = normal, natural
- Eu enviei-lhe o anexo = correct, but more formal or less common in Brazil
A learner should recognize both, but use lhe enviei as the safer everyday choice in Brazilian Portuguese.
Why is o anexo used? Doesn’t anexo usually mean attached?
Yes—anexo can be an adjective meaning attached, but here it is being used as a noun meaning attachment.
So in this sentence:
- o anexo = the attachment
This is very common in emails and office communication.
Compare:
Segue o arquivo anexo.
= The attached file follows. / Please find the attached file.
Here anexo is an adjective describing arquivo.Enviei o anexo por e-mail.
= I sent the attachment by email.
Here anexo is a noun.
In business Portuguese, anexo as attachment is very common.
Why is it por e-mail and not em e-mail or com e-mail?
Por e-mail means by email or via email. The preposition por is often used to show the means or channel used to do something.
So:
- por e-mail = by email
- por telefone = by phone
- por mensagem = by message
Using em e-mail would not sound natural here.
Using com e-mail would mean something more like with email, which is not the intended idea.
So por e-mail is the normal expression.
Why is there a comma before mas?
Because mas means but, and it connects two contrasting clauses. In Portuguese, it is normal to put a comma before mas.
So:
This is similar to English:
- I sent you the attachment by email, but the website link still doesn’t open.
The comma helps mark the contrast:
- first idea: the attachment was sent
- second idea: the link still does not work
What exactly does do site mean?
Do is a contraction of de + o:
- de = of / from
- o = the
- de + o = do
So:
- o link do site = the link of the site / more naturally in English, the website link or the link to the site
This kind of contraction is extremely common in Portuguese:
- de + a = da
- de + os = dos
- de + as = das
Examples:
- a página do site = the page of the site / the website page
- o nome da empresa = the name of the company
Why is it não abre? A link doesn’t literally open, does it?
In Portuguese, abrir is often used for websites, pages, files, apps, and links when they open, load, or work properly.
So:
This is very natural Portuguese.
Similar examples:
- O arquivo não abre. = The file won’t open.
- O site não abre. = The website won’t open.
- O aplicativo não abre. = The app won’t open.
So even if English might sometimes prefer doesn’t load or doesn’t work, Portuguese commonly uses abrir.
What does ainda não add to the sentence?
Ainda não means still not or not yet, depending on context.
Here:
- o link do site ainda não abre = the website link still doesn’t open
It suggests that the speaker expected it to be working by now, but it is not.
Compare:
- não abre = it doesn’t open
- ainda não abre = it still doesn’t open / it’s still not opening
So ainda adds the idea of continuation:
- the problem remains
- the situation has not changed yet
Why is eu included? Could it just be Lhe enviei o anexo...?
Yes, Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb form already shows the subject.
So both are possible:
- Eu lhe enviei o anexo...
- Lhe enviei o anexo...
Why include eu?
- for emphasis
- for clarity
- because written language sometimes keeps it for tone or structure
Since enviei clearly means I sent, the eu is not necessary. But it is not wrong at all.
In Brazilian Portuguese, subject pronouns are used more often than in some other varieties, so Eu lhe enviei... sounds perfectly natural.
Why is the verb enviei in the simple past?
Enviei is the pretérito perfeito of enviar. It describes a completed action in the past:
- eu enviei = I sent
The speaker is referring to one finished action: the attachment was sent.
This fits the context well:
- first, the attachment was sent
- now, there is still a problem with the link
If you changed the tense, the meaning would change:
- eu enviava = I used to send / I was sending
- eu tenho enviado = I have been sending / I have sent repeatedly, depending on context
So enviei is the natural tense for I sent it.
Is this sentence natural in Brazilian Portuguese, or would a Brazilian say it differently?
Yes, it is natural, especially in a somewhat professional or written context. But many Brazilians might say it in a slightly different way, especially in everyday speech.
Common alternatives:
- Eu te enviei o anexo por e-mail, mas o link do site ainda não abre.
- Eu enviei o anexo para você por e-mail, mas o link do site ainda não abre.
- Mandei o anexo por e-mail, mas o link do site ainda não abre.
Notes:
- te is common in informal speech
- para você is very common and clear
- mandei is often more conversational than enviei
So the original sentence is correct and natural, but it leans a bit toward a more formal or businesslike register.
Could site be replaced with website or something else in Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, site is the standard everyday word for website. It is extremely common.
So:
- o link do site = the website link / the site link
Other possibilities exist, but they are less common or more technical:
- página = page
- página da internet = internet page
- website is understood, but site is much more usual in Brazil
So for normal Brazilian Portuguese, site is exactly what you would expect.
Is o link do site ainda não abre the same as saying o link do site ainda não funciona?
They are very close, but not identical.
- o link do site ainda não abre = the link still doesn’t open
- o link do site ainda não funciona = the link still doesn’t work
In many real situations, they mean almost the same thing. But there is a slight nuance:
- não abre focuses on the action of opening/loading
- não funciona focuses more generally on the fact that it is not working
For a broken link, both are natural in Brazilian Portuguese.
If you want the most literal match to the original sentence, keep não abre.
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