Na hora do almoço, costumo comer carne grelhada.

At lunchtime, I usually eat grilled meat.

Breakdown of Na hora do almoço, costumo comer carne grelhada.

• eu: I
• comer: to eat
• de: of
• em: in
• o almoço: the lunch
• costumar: to usually
• a hora: the hour
• a carne: the meat
• grelhado: grilled

Questions & Answers about Na hora do almoço, costumo comer carne grelhada.

What does Na hora do almoço mean in English?

It translates to “At lunchtime”. The phrase sets the time when the action is performed, indicating that the speaker usually eats at that time.

How does costumo function in this sentence, and what does it imply?

Costumo is the first person singular of the verb costumar, which means “to usually do” or “to be accustomed to”. It implies a habitual action, telling us that the speaker typically performs the action that follows.

Why is the verb comer in its infinitive form after costumo?

In Portuguese, when expressing habitual actions with verbs like costumar, the following verb is used in the infinitive form. This structure—costumo comer—means “I usually eat.”

How does the adjective grelhada relate to the noun carne, and what does this illustrate about Portuguese grammar?

The noun carne is feminine in Portuguese, so the adjective grelhada is in its feminine form to agree with it. This illustrates the rule of gender agreement in Portuguese, where adjectives must match the gender (and number) of the nouns they modify.

Why is there no explicit subject pronoun (like eu) in the sentence?

Portuguese often omits subject pronouns because the verb conjugation already indicates the subject. The form costumo clearly shows it is in the first person singular, so including eu is unnecessary.

How would you naturally translate the entire sentence Na hora do almoço, costumo comer carne grelhada?

A natural translation would be: “At lunchtime, I usually eat grilled meat.” This translation captures both the habitual nature of the action and the specified time.