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O fogo queima lenha depressa.

O fogo queima lenha depressa.
The fire burns firewood quickly.
FromLesson 21inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of O fogo queima lenha depressa.

depressa
quickly
queimar
to burn
o fogo
the fire
a lenha
the firewood

Questions & Answers about O fogo queima lenha depressa.

Why is there a definite article before fogo?
In European Portuguese, you normally use the definite article with general or abstract nouns. Saying o fogo (instead of just fogo) is idiomatic when you mean “fire” in a general sense.
Could we omit the article and say Fogo queima lenha depressa?
No, that sounds unnatural. In Portugal it’s standard to keep the article o before fogo. Omitting it makes the sentence sound clipped or ungrammatical.
Why is lenha singular rather than plural?
Lenha is treated as an uncountable noun when you mean “wood” as fuel. Even though you picture logs, Portuguese uses the singular to refer to the material collectively.
Could we add an article before lenha, like queima a lenha?

You can, but it changes the nuance.

  • queima lenha (no article) speaks about wood in general.
  • queima a lenha (with a) makes it sound like “it burns that particular wood” or “the wood you mentioned.”
Is depressa an adjective or an adverb here?
It’s functioning as an adverb meaning “quickly.” In Portuguese, certain adverbs share the same form as the feminine singular of adjectives (e.g. rápida vs. rapidamente), but depressa here modifies the verb.
Why doesn’t depressa agree in gender or number with fogo or lenha?
Adverbs in Portuguese are invariable; they never change to match the gender or number of nouns. Whether it’s “o fogo,” “as chamas,” “eles correm,” it’s always depressa.
Could we use rapidamente instead of depressa?
Yes. O fogo queima lenha rapidamente is perfectly correct and slightly more formal. Depressa is more colloquial.
What’s the pronunciation of the digraph lh in lenha?
lh represents the palatal lateral /ʎ/, similar to the “lli” in English “million.” So lenha sounds roughly like ’ʎe-nyɐ.
Could we rephrase with an impersonal construction like queima-se lenha depressa?
Absolutely. Queima-se lenha depressa is the impersonal passive voice (“one burns wood quickly” or “wood is burned quickly”) and is very common in Portuguese.
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