Ela esqueceu-se do livro.

She forgot the book.

Breakdown of Ela esqueceu-se do livro.

• ela: she
• de: of
• o livro: the book
• esquecer-se: to forget

Questions & Answers about Ela esqueceu-se do livro.

Why is there a hyphen in esqueceu-se?

The hyphen connects the conjugated verb esqueceu with its reflexive pronoun se. In European Portuguese, this attachment (known as enclisis) is a grammatical convention used when the pronoun follows the verb directly. It signals that the verb is used reflexively, indicating that the subject is performing the action on itself.

Why is the reflexive form esquecer-se used instead of a non-reflexive form like simply esqueceu?

In Portuguese, the verb esquecer requires a reflexive construction when expressing the act of forgetting something. The complete reflexive form esquecer-se de is used to link the action of forgetting to the forgotten object. Dropping the reflexive pronoun would make the sentence grammatically incorrect and would not follow the idiomatic structure required in Portuguese.

What does do in do livro signify?

Do is a contraction of the preposition de and the article o (meaning "of the" in English). In the sentence, the verb esquecer-se is followed by the preposition de, which introduces the object that was forgotten. Since livro ("book") is masculine and singular, de + o becomes do.

Which tense is used in esqueceu-se, and what does it tell us about the action?

Esqueceu-se is in the simple past tense (preterite) for the third person singular. This tense indicates that the action of forgetting occurred at a specific moment in the past. Therefore, the sentence translates to "She forgot the book."

Is it acceptable to place the reflexive pronoun before the verb, as in Ela se esqueceu do livro?

Yes, both placements are grammatically correct. Placing the pronoun before the verb is called proclisis, while attaching it after the verb (with a hyphen) is known as enclisis. In European Portuguese, the enclitic form (as in esqueceu-se) is often preferred in affirmative sentences, but the proclitic form (se esqueceu) is also acceptable, with the choice sometimes depending on stylistic preference or specific syntactic rules.