Breakdown of O professor aconselha-nos a rever o texto antes de o entregarmos.
antes de
before
o professor
the teacher
o
it
o texto
the text
nos
us
aconselhar
to advise
entregar
to hand in
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Questions & Answers about O professor aconselha-nos a rever o texto antes de o entregarmos.
What does aconselha-nos mean, and why is the pronoun nos attached to the verb?
Aconselha-nos translates as "advises us." In Portuguese, particularly in European Portuguese, object pronouns like nos are often attached directly to the conjugated verb as enclitics. This is a standard syntactic feature that differs from English, where the pronoun would typically come before the verb.
What is the function of the structure a rever o texto in this sentence?
The phrase a rever o texto is an infinitive clause that acts as the complement of the verb aconselha. It specifies the action being advised, namely "to review the text." The use of a + infinitive following verbs like aconselhar is common in Portuguese when expressing recommendations or suggestions.
Why is the clause antes de o entregarmos using the subjunctive form entregarmos instead of the infinitive?
In Portuguese, when a subordinate clause expresses an action that is anticipated or not yet realized—especially after temporal expressions like antes de ("before")—the subjunctive mood is used. Entregarmos is the first-person plural subjunctive of entregar, which reflects that the delivery (or submission) of the text is a future or contingent action.
What is the role of the object pronoun o in antes de o entregarmos?
The pronoun o stands in for o texto and functions as the direct object of the verb entregarmos. By inserting o, Portuguese avoids repeating the noun and clearly indicates that it is the text which is to be submitted.
How does clitic pronoun placement in this Portuguese sentence compare with English pronoun placement?
In English, object pronouns such as “us” typically precede the verb (e.g., "advises us"). In contrast, European Portuguese often employs enclitic placement, where the pronoun is attached to the end of the verb (e.g., aconselha-nos). This difference reflects a key variation in how each language handles unstressed object pronouns within sentence structure.