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Questions & Answers about O Pedro responde à pergunta.
What is the role of the definite article O in the sentence “O Pedro responde à pergunta.”?
In European Portuguese, it is common to use the definite article before male first names. The O in O Pedro indicates that you are referring to a specific person named Pedro. In English, we simply say “Pedro,” but in Portugal the article is traditionally included with names.
Why is the contraction à used instead of writing a separately before “pergunta”?
The word à is a contraction formed from the preposition a (meaning “to”) and the feminine definite article a (used with the noun “pergunta”). Since “pergunta” is a feminine noun, the proper prepositional phrase becomes à (i.e., a + a = à), meaning “to the.”
What is the grammatical function of responde in this sentence?
Responde is the third person singular present tense form of the verb responder (to answer). It agrees in number and person with the subject O Pedro. Essentially, it tells us what Pedro is doing—he is answering.
How is the sentence structured compared to an equivalent English sentence?