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O jardim fica verde depois da chuva.

O jardim fica verde depois da chuva.
The garden turns green after the rain.
FromLesson 21inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of O jardim fica verde depois da chuva.

depois de
after
o jardim
the garden
a chuva
the rain
verde
green
ficar
to turn

Questions & Answers about O jardim fica verde depois da chuva.

What does fica mean in this sentence?
Fica is the 3rd‑person singular of the verb ficar, which in this context means “to become” or “to get.” So o jardim fica verde literally translates to “the garden becomes/gets green.”
Why use ficar instead of estar here?

While estar describes a state or location, ficar often highlights a change of state.

  • O jardim está verde could imply the garden is green right now (simple description).
  • O jardim fica verde suggests it turns green (a transformation) after the rain.
Why is there an o before jardim? Can we omit the article?
In European Portuguese, common concrete nouns usually take a definite article. O jardim is the natural way to say “the garden.” Omitting the article (jardim fica verde) sounds unnatural unless you’re using a title or headline style.
Why is verde unchanged here? Shouldn’t adjectives agree in gender?
Adjectives do agree in gender and number in Portuguese. However, verde happens to have the same form for masculine singular and feminine singular. If it were plural it would become verdes, but for one masculine noun (o jardim) it remains verde.
Why do we say depois da chuva and not depois a chuva?
Depois de is the fixed Portuguese expression for “after.” When it is followed by a feminine singular noun with a definite article (a chuva), you contract de + a into da, yielding depois da chuva.
Can we replace depois da chuva with após a chuva?
Yes. Após is a more formal synonym of depois de and must still be followed by the article: após a chuva. Both mean “after the rain,” though após sounds slightly more literary.
Could we use a clause like depois que chove instead of depois da chuva?

Absolutely. You can say:

  • O jardim fica verde depois que chove. (“…after it rains.”)
    Here depois que introduces a finite clause. You could also use quando chove (“when it rains”) for a similar meaning.
How about using the infinitive: depois de chover?

Also correct. Depois de + infinitive is common:
Depois de chover, o jardim fica verde.
It means exactly the same but shifts the structure to an infinitive clause.

Can we move depois da chuva to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Portuguese allows flexible placement of adverbial time expressions. For example:
Depois da chuva, o jardim fica verde.
This fronting puts extra emphasis on the timing.

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