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Questions & Answers about Pedro e Maria formam equipa.
What is the role of the verb formam in the sentence "Pedro e Maria formam equipa"?
Formam is the present tense, third-person plural form of the verb formar, meaning "to form" or "to make." It is conjugated to agree with the compound subject Pedro e Maria, indicating that they jointly form a team.
Why is the conjunction e used in this sentence?
The conjunction e means "and" in Portuguese. It connects Pedro and Maria, showing that both individuals are part of the same action—forming a team.
Why is there no article before equipa, whereas in English we would typically say "a team"?
In European Portuguese, it is common to omit the indefinite article in expressions like this. The sentence "Pedro e Maria formam equipa" is an idiomatic way of stating that they constitute a team without needing to include an article such as uma.
What does equipa mean, and is its spelling different from the Brazilian Portuguese version of the word?
Equipa translates to team in English. In European Portuguese, equipa is the standard spelling, while in Brazilian Portuguese, the word is usually spelled equipe. Despite the difference in spelling, both refer to a group working together as a team.
Is the sentence structure in "Pedro e Maria formam equipa" typical in Portuguese, and how does it compare to English?
Yes, the sentence follows the standard Subject-Verb-Object order common to both Portuguese and English. Pedro e Maria (the subject) appear before formam (the verb), which is then followed by equipa (the object), making the structure intuitive for learners familiar with English sentence patterns.