O oleiro leu o pedido.

The potter read the request.

Breakdown of O oleiro leu o pedido.

• ler: to read
• o: the
• o oleiro: a potter
• o pedido: a request or order

Questions & Answers about O oleiro leu o pedido.

Why is o used twice in O oleiro leu o pedido?

Because the sentence has two masculine singular nouns, and each one has its own definite article:

• o oleiro = the potter
• o pedido = the request / the order

In Portuguese, just like in English, both the subject and the object can take the if they are definite. Here, o is the masculine singular form of the.

So the structure is:

• O oleiro = subject
• leu = verb
• o pedido = direct object

What tense is leu, and what verb does it come from?

Leu is the 3rd person singular of the preterite of the verb ler, which means to read.

So:

• ler = to read
• ele/ela leu = he/she read

In this sentence, leu means read in the completed past sense: the action happened and is finished.

Why is it leu and not lia?