Ela bebe café hoje.

she

Breakdown of Ela bebe café hoje.

• hoje: today
• o café: the coffee
• beber: to drink

Questions & Answers about Ela bebe café hoje.

Why does the sentence use bebe and not bebes or bebemos?

In Portuguese, verbs change depending on the subject (who is doing the action). Bebe is the third-person singular form (for ele, ela, or você). Bebes is the second-person singular (tu) form, and bebemos is the first-person plural (nós) form. Since the subject here is ela (she), we use bebe.

Can we say Ela está a beber café hoje to describe a current, ongoing action?

Yes. In European Portuguese, estar a + infinitive is a very common way to express an ongoing action. Ela bebe café hoje can be interpreted as a statement about her general habit or something that happens today, while Ela está a beber café hoje emphasizes that she is in the act of drinking coffee right now.

Is the word ela strictly necessary at the start of the sentence?

Portuguese often allows dropping the subject pronoun if the subject is clear from context. You can say Bebe café hoje and still be understood. However, including ela can make the subject extra clear, especially in a context where multiple people are being referenced.

Why isn’t there an article before café (like o café) in this sentence?

In Portuguese, whether or not you use an article often depends on context and whether you’re referring to something in a general or specific way. If you say Ela bebe café without an article, it usually means she drinks coffee in general or she’s having some coffee (not a specific cup). If you say Ela bebe o café, you might be talking about a specific coffee already mentioned.

Can I change the word order to Hoje ela bebe café?

Yes, Portuguese word order can often be flexible. Hoje ela bebe café sounds a bit more emphatic about hoje (today), but it’s perfectly correct. The main elements remain the same: subject (ela), verb (bebe), object (café), and adverbial reference to time (hoje).