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Questions & Answers about Eu como meio pão.
What does meio mean in this sentence?
Meio is an adjective meaning half. In this context, it indicates that you are eating half of a unit (bread). It modifies pão (bread) to show that only half is being consumed.
What is the form and tense of the verb como?
The verb como is the first person singular form of comer (to eat) in the present tense, which translates to "I eat."
Why is there no article before pão in the sentence?
Portuguese often omits articles when using fractional adjectives like meio. Here, meio directly qualifies pão to convey "half a bread" without needing an additional article.
What is the difference between using meio and metade?
Although both terms can indicate "half," meio is used as an adjective directly modifying a noun (e.g., meio pão means "half a bread"), while metade is a noun that usually requires a preposition (as in a metade do pão, meaning "half of the bread"). The choice depends on the structure you want to use.
Does meio change its form based on the gender of the noun it modifies?
Yes, adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. In the sentence, pão is masculine singular, so meio remains unchanged. If the noun were feminine, the form would switch to meia (for example, meia maçã for "half an apple").