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Eu coloco o molho na salada.

Eu coloco o molho na salada.
I put the sauce on the salad.
FromLesson 22inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Eu coloco o molho na salada.

eu
I
em
on
colocar
to put
a salada
the salad
o molho
the sauce

Questions & Answers about Eu coloco o molho na salada.

What is the tense and person of coloco in this sentence?
coloco is the first-person singular (eu) in the present indicative of the verb colocar. In English it corresponds to “I put”.
Why do we include Eu if coloco already shows the subject?
Portuguese verbs are conjugated to indicate person and number, so coloco already means “I put.” The pronoun Eu is optional and is used for emphasis or clarity, especially in speech or when contrasting with someone else.
What is the function of the article o before molho?
Portuguese commonly uses definite articles before nouns. o molho literally means “the sauce.” You’re referring to a specific sauce (perhaps the one on the table), not just any sauce.
How does na work in na salada?
na is the contraction of the preposition em (“in/on/at”) plus the feminine article a. So na salada literally means “in the salad,” but contextually we translate it as “on the salad.”
Could you drop the articles and say Coloco molho salada or Coloco molho na salada?
Yes. You can omit Eu and/or o in casual speech. The most natural reductions are Coloco molho na salada or even just Coloco molho na salada (still keeping na). Dropping o before molho makes it more generic, like “I put sauce on salad.”
What’s the difference between colocar and pôr?
Both mean “to put.” colocar is neutral or slightly more formal, while pôr is shorter and more colloquial. You could say Eu ponho o molho na salada without changing the meaning.
How do you replace o molho with a direct-object pronoun?
The pronoun for o molho (masculine singular) is o. You can attach it after the verb (Coloco-o na salada) or place it before in everyday speech (Eu o coloco na salada). In European Portuguese, enclisis (Coloco-o) is the normative written form.
How would you make this sentence negative?
You insert não before the verb: Eu não coloco o molho na salada (“I do not put the sauce on the salad”).
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