Breakdown of Eu gosto de colecionar moedas antigas e trocar com os meus amigos.
eu
I
meu
my
o amigo
the friend
gostar de
to like
e
and
com
with
antigo
old
colecionar
to collect
a moeda
the coin
trocar
to trade
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Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de colecionar moedas antigas e trocar com os meus amigos.
What does gosto de mean in this sentence?
Gosto de translates to I like. It’s formed by the verb gostar (to like) plus the preposition de, and it’s always followed by an infinitive verb to describe an activity or hobby. In this sentence, it sets up the two actions that the speaker enjoys.
Why are the verbs colecionar and trocar in the infinitive form rather than conjugated?
In Portuguese, when expressing likes or preferences using verbs like gostar, the following verbs must be in their infinitive form. That's why both colecionar (to collect) and trocar (to exchange or trade) remain in the infinitive after gosto de.
Why is the adjective antigas placed after the noun moedas?
In Portuguese, descriptive adjectives generally follow the noun. Here, moedas antigas means old coins. Placing antigas after moedas adheres to the typical syntactic order in Portuguese when describing inherent traits like age.
What does trocar com os meus amigos imply, and why isn’t the object repeated?
Trocar com os meus amigos means to trade with my friends. Even though the object (the coins) isn’t repeated after trocar, it is implicitly understood from the phrase colecionar moedas antigas, which already introduced the coins. This omission is common when the object is clear from context.
Is it necessary to include the subject pronoun Eu at the beginning of the sentence?
No, including Eu is optional since Portuguese is a pro-drop language—meaning the subject can be omitted because the verb form gosto already implies I. However, beginners or learners sometimes include it for clarity or emphasis.