Breakdown of Eu conto uma história à criança.
eu
I
uma
a
a criança
the child
contar
to tell
a história
the story
Questions & Answers about Eu conto uma história à criança.
Why is there a grave accent on à instead of just writing a?
The grave accent on à shows the mandatory contraction of the preposition a (“to”) with the feminine singular article a (“the”). In Portuguese, a + a → à and a + o → ao. Without the accent you’d just have the preposition a, not the combined form.
What are the direct and indirect objects in Eu conto uma história à criança?
- uma história is the direct object (the thing you are telling).
- à criança is the indirect object (the person receiving the story).
In English you’d say “I tell a story (direct) to the child (indirect).”
Why do we use the verb contar here instead of dizer?
Contar is the idiomatic choice for “telling” stories, anecdotes or events.
- You contar uma história, uma piada, um segredo…
- Dizer means “to say” or “to state” and takes clauses or direct speech, e.g. dizer a verdade, dizer “olá”.
You wouldn’t say dizer uma história in Portuguese.
Is the subject pronoun Eu necessary? Can it be omitted?
No, it’s not required. Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the verb form conto already means “I tell.”
- Eu conto… (with emphasis on the subject)
- Conto… (completely natural and more common in casual speech)
How would you replace à criança with an indirect-object pronoun?
You use lhe (for both he/she in Portuguese):
- Enclisis (European Portuguese default): Conto-lhe uma história. or Eu conto-lhe uma história.
- In Brazilian Portuguese you’ll often hear proclisis: Eu lhe conto uma história.
Can I say para a criança instead of à criança?
In Brazil it’s common to use para (“for/to”), but in European Portuguese contar algo a alguém is the standard pattern.
- EP: Conto uma história à criança.
- BP acceptable: Conto uma história para a criança.
Nuance: a emphasizes the idea of “addressing” someone, while para can feel like “for the benefit of.”
Does changing the word order affect the meaning? For example, Eu conto à criança uma história or À criança eu conto uma história?
Portuguese has fairly flexible word order. All three are correct:
- Eu conto uma história à criança. (neutral)
- Eu conto à criança uma história. (slight focus on criança)
- À criança eu conto uma história. (strong emphasis on child)
The meaning stays the same; you’re just shifting emphasis.
Why is there an accent on história?
História is a proparoxytone (stress on the antepenultimate syllable: his-TÓ-ri-a). In Portuguese, all proparoxytones carry a written accent to mark the stress.
In English we say “I am telling a story.” How do you express the progressive in European Portuguese?
European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive for ongoing actions:
- Eu estou a contar uma história à criança.
Brazilian Portuguese more often uses the gerund: - Eu estou contando uma história à criança.
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