Breakdown of Eu descobri que posso gastar menos quando faço uma lista antes de comprar.
eu
I
comprar
to buy
uma
a
poder
to be able to
Questions & Answers about Eu descobri que posso gastar menos quando faço uma lista antes de comprar.
Why does the sentence start with eu? Can I leave it out?
Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, eu is often optional because the verb form already shows the subject.
So:
- Eu descobri...
- Descobri...
both mean the same thing here: I discovered / I found out...
Including eu can add emphasis, contrast, or clarity. For example, if you want to stress that I discovered it, not someone else, eu sounds more natural.
What tense is descobri, and what exactly does it mean here?
Descobri is the preterite form of descobrir.
- descobrir = to discover, to find out, to realize
- descobri = I discovered / I found out / I realized
In this sentence, descobri does not necessarily mean a dramatic discovery. Very often it simply means I realized or I found out.
Examples:
- Descobri que ele mora aqui. = I found out that he lives here.
- Descobri que estudar cedo funciona melhor para mim. = I realized that studying early works better for me.
Why is there a que after descobri?