Breakdown of Comprei um gelado enorme e apenas comi metade dele.
eu
I
um
a
comer
to eat
de
of
e
and
comprar
to buy
apenas
only
o gelado
the ice cream
enorme
huge
a metade
the half
ele
it
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Portuguese grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Comprei um gelado enorme e apenas comi metade dele.
What is the function and tense of comprei in this sentence?
Comprei is the first person singular preterite form of the verb comprar, meaning "I bought." In Portuguese, the subject (in this case, eu for I) is often omitted because the verb ending already indicates who performed the action.
What does the noun gelado mean in this context, and is it used differently in other Portuguese-speaking regions?
In European Portuguese, gelado means "ice cream." Remember that in Brazilian Portuguese, while gelado generally means "cold" when used as an adjective, the word sorvete is usually used to refer to ice cream.
Why is the adjective enorme placed after the noun gelado instead of before it?
In Portuguese, adjectives typically follow the noun they modify. In the phrase um gelado enorme, placing enorme after gelado is the standard word order to describe the size of the ice cream. Although adjectives can sometimes precede the noun to convey a slightly different nuance, the post-nominal position is most common in this case.
What is the role of apenas in the sentence?
Apenas means "only" or "merely." It emphasizes that the speaker ate just half of the ice cream, indicating that the action was limited. Its use here helps underscore the fact that not the whole amount was consumed.
Why does the sentence end with dele instead of repeating the noun gelado?
Dele is a pronoun that stands in for do gelado (meaning "of it"). Using dele avoids repeating the noun and makes the sentence more fluid. It clearly refers back to the gelado mentioned earlier.
How is the overall structure of the sentence organized?
The sentence is composed of two independent clauses connected by the conjunction e (meaning "and"). The first clause, Comprei um gelado enorme, tells us what was bought, while the second clause, apenas comi metade dele, explains what was done with it. Notice that the subject is omitted in both clauses, which is common in Portuguese since the verb forms already indicate the subject.