Breakdown of Acabámos de vidrar a faiança.
acabar de
to have just
o
the
a faiança
glazed earthenware or faience
vidrar
to coat pottery with a glassy glaze
Questions & Answers about Acabámos de vidrar a faiança.
What does acabámos de + infinitive mean in Portuguese?
It means have/has just done something.
So acabámos de vidrar a faiança means we have just glazed the earthenware/faience.
This is a very common Portuguese structure:
- Acabei de comer. = I’ve just eaten.
- Acabaram de sair. = They’ve just left.
Even though acabámos is a past form, the whole expression often corresponds to English have just + past participle.
Why is it acabámos with an accent?
In European Portuguese, the accent helps distinguish two different nós forms:
- acabamos = we finish / we are finishing (present)
- acabámos = we finished (simple past)
In the expression acabámos de vidrar, the past form is used as part of the fixed structure meaning we have just glazed.
This accent distinction is especially useful in European Portuguese.
Why is de used after acabámos?