Breakdown of O Pedro costumava descer ao porão para procurar objetos antigos.
Pedro
Pedro
para
to
procurar
to look for
antigo
old
descer
to go down
costumar
used to
o porão
the basement
o objeto
the object
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Questions & Answers about O Pedro costumava descer ao porão para procurar objetos antigos.
What does the word costumava mean in this sentence?
It is the imperfect form of the verb costumar, meaning "used to". This indicates that Pedro habitually performed the action in the past.
Why is costumava in the imperfect tense, and what does that imply?
The imperfect tense in Portuguese is used for habitual or repeated actions in the past. Here, costumava shows that going down to the basement was a regular activity for Pedro, without specifying exactly when it started or ended.
How is the phrase ao porão constructed, and what does it mean?
Ao porão means "to the basement." It is a contraction of the preposition "a" (to) and the masculine definite article "o" (the), which is common in Portuguese when indicating direction with masculine nouns.
What role does the infinitive descer play in the sentence?
Descer, meaning "to go down" or "to descend," follows costumava to indicate the specific action that Pedro used to do. It tells us what his habitual activity involved.
What is conveyed by the phrase para procurar objetos antigos?
This phrase explains the purpose behind Pedro's action. Para translates as "in order to" or "to," procurar means "to look for" or "search for," and objetos antigos means "old objects" or "antique items." Together, they indicate that Pedro went down to the basement specifically to search for old objects.