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Questions & Answers about O café acabou.
What is the grammatical structure of O café acabou.?
This sentence follows a simple Subject-Verb pattern. O café is the subject, where O is the definite article meaning the and café translates as coffee; acabou is the verb in the simple past (or pretérito perfeito) form of acabar, indicating that the action is complete.
What tense is acabou in, and why is that important?
Acabou is in the simple past tense, specifically the pretérito perfeito form, used to show that the action has been completed. This tense tells us that the coffee has already finished, emphasizing that there is no coffee left at the moment.
Why does O café acabou. not include a direct object, even though it indicates that something is finished?
In Portuguese, verbs like acabar are often used intransitively. Even though in English you might expect a phrase like “The coffee is finished” to be more descriptive, in Portuguese the expression O café acabou. efficiently communicates that the coffee has run out without needing an additional object.
Does O café acabou. only refer to the coffee’s availability, or can it imply something about its quality or state?
The sentence strictly refers to the coffee’s availability—it indicates that there is no coffee left. It does not comment on the quality, temperature, or any other aspect of the coffee. Its sole function is to let someone know the supply is exhausted.
Are there alternative ways to express that the coffee is finished in Portuguese?
Yes, there are several equivalent expressions. For example, you might hear Não há café. (meaning There is no coffee) or Ficou sem café. (meaning We’re out of coffee). Each of these expressions conveys the idea that the coffee is no longer available, though O café acabou. is a particularly common idiomatic way to state it in Portugal.