Breakdown of O Pedro comprou vinho na loja perto de casa e disse que não era caro.
ser
to be
Pedro
Pedro
de
of
a casa
the house
e
and
em
in
comprar
to buy
não
not
que
that
dizer
to say
perto
near
o vinho
the wine
a loja
the store
caro
expensive
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Questions & Answers about O Pedro comprou vinho na loja perto de casa e disse que não era caro.
Why is the definite article O used before Pedro in the sentence?
In Portuguese (Portugal), it’s common to place the definite article before male names in informal or conversational contexts. Using O Pedro gives the sentence a familiar tone and is a typical stylistic feature, even though in English we usually omit the article when referring to someone by name.
Why is vinho used without an article, and wouldn’t it be more precise to say um vinho or o vinho?
vinho is used in a general, uncountable sense, similar to saying “bought wine” in English. Without an article, it implies that Pedro bought wine as a substance or product in general, rather than a specific bottle (which um vinho would suggest) or a particular bottle he already knew about (which o vinho would indicate).
What does the contraction na loja mean, and how is it formed?
na loja means “in the shop.” It is formed by combining the preposition em with the feminine definite article a (because loja is a feminine noun), resulting in na (i.e., em + a = na).
Why is the clause que não era caro expressed using the imperfect tense (era) instead of the present tense?
Since the main verb disse (“said”) is in the past, the reported clause que não era caro uses the imperfect tense (era) to maintain the past reference. This backshifting is common in reported speech, just like in English when we say “He said that it wasn’t expensive,” even if the price might still be low today.
What is the function of que in the phrase disse que não era caro?
que functions as a conjunction that introduces the subordinate clause containing Pedro’s statement. It is equivalent to the English word “that” in reported speech, linking the main clause (disse) to the content or reported idea that “it wasn’t expensive.”