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Questions & Answers about A Ana tem dois livros.
Why is the definite article A used before Ana in the sentence?
In European Portuguese, it is common to use a definite article before personal names in many contexts. Thus, A Ana is an idiomatic way of referring to the person, even though English typically omits the article before a name.
What does each word in A Ana tem dois livros mean?
- A is the feminine singular definite article.
- Ana is the proper noun (the name of the person).
- tem is the present tense of the verb ter (to have).
- dois means “two” (masculine form).
- livros means “books” (masculine plural).
So, the sentence translates to “Ana has two books.”
How does gender and number agreement work in the phrase dois livros?
In Portuguese, adjectives and numerals must agree in both gender and number with the noun they describe. Since livros is a masculine plural noun, the numeral takes the masculine plural form dois. If the noun were feminine, for example canetas (pens), you would use duas instead.
Is it acceptable to say Ana tem dois livros without the article, as in English?
Yes, in some varieties of Portuguese—especially in Brazilian Portuguese—the article is often omitted. However, in European Portuguese it is common and grammatically acceptable to include the article before personal names, hence A Ana is preferred in many contexts.
What is the basic sentence structure of A Ana tem dois livros?
The sentence follows a simple Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order:
• Subject: A Ana (with A indicating the article that comes with the name)
• Verb: tem (meaning “has”)
• Object: dois livros (indicating what Ana has)
This structure is similar to the SVO order used in English.