Breakdown of O vendedor bebe água no mercado.
beber
to drink
a água
the water
em
at
o mercado
the market
o vendedor
the vendor
Questions & Answers about O vendedor bebe água no mercado.
Is it normal in Portuguese to put a definite article before a profession (for example, o vendedor)? In English we might drop “the” and say “Seller drinks water.”
Yes. In European Portuguese, singular common nouns referring to a specific person usually take the definite article. So you say o vendedor (“the seller”). Omitting it (Vendedor bebe água…) sounds odd or too telegraphic.
Why is the verb bebe used instead of the infinitive beber or another form?
Portuguese verbs change form for person and tense. Beber is the infinitive (“to drink”). For present indicative, third-person singular (he/she/it), you conjugate beber → bebe. The pattern for regular –er verbs is: eu bebo, tu bebes, ele/ela bebe, nós bebemos, vós bebeis, eles/elas bebem.
Why is there no article before água? Shouldn’t it be a água?
When talking about consuming an uncountable substance in a general sense, Portuguese drops the article: bebe água = “drinks water” (any water). If you mean a specific water (e.g. the glass of water), you’d say bebe a água (“drinks the water”).
What does the accent on the first “a” in água do?
The acute accent on á shows that the first syllable is stressed and the vowel is open (/ˈa.ɣwa/). Without it, default stress rules would shift the emphasis wrongly to the penultimate syllable.
What is no in no mercado? Why not just em mercado?
No is the contraction of em + o (“in” + “the”). Em o mercado shortens to no mercado (“in the market”). You need the article because mercado is masculine singular.
If the noun were feminine, would the contraction change?
Exactly. For a feminine noun you use na = em + a. For example, na loja (“in the shop”).
Can I drop the subject altogether and just say bebe água no mercado if it’s clear who I mean?
Yes. Portuguese is pro-drop: you can omit subject pronouns (or even the article + noun) when context or the verb ending makes the subject clear.
How would I make this sentence plural (“the sellers drink water in the market”)?
Change article, noun, and verb to plural: Os vendedores bebem água no mercado.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Portuguese grammar?”
Portuguese grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PortugueseMaster Portuguese — from O vendedor bebe água no mercado to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions