Breakdown of O mapa da cidade mostra todos os museus importantes.
de
of
a cidade
the city
importante
important
mostrar
to show
o museu
the museum
o mapa
the map
todos
all
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Questions & Answers about O mapa da cidade mostra todos os museus importantes.
Why is da used instead of de a?
In Portuguese, when the preposition de (of) meets the feminine singular definite article a, they contract to da. So de + a = da. You wouldn’t say de a cidade, but da cidade.
Why do we say o mapa da cidade and not just o mapa cidade?
Portuguese uses the preposition de to link two nouns when one belongs to or defines the other. In English you can say “city map” without a preposition, but in Portuguese it becomes mapa + de + cidade → o mapa da cidade.
What does mostra mean here and why isn’t there an explicit subject?
Mostra is the third person singular of the verb mostrar (to show). Here o mapa (the map) is the subject: O mapa da cidade mostra = “The city map shows”. In Portuguese you don’t need an extra pronoun: the verb ending already tells you the subject (he/it shows).
Why is todos os museus used instead of just todos museus?
When using todos (‘all’), Portuguese normally pairs it with the definite article: todos + os + noun. So you say todos os museus. Omitting os sounds odd. If you wanted to drop the article for stylistic reasons you could say museus importantes (important museums), but not todos museus importantes.
Why does the adjective importantes come after museus? Could it go before?
In European Portuguese most adjectives follow the noun: museus importantes. You can put some adjectives before for emphasis or style, but importantes museus would sound unusual. If you did place importantes before, you’d usually use a different nuance, like grandes museus vs museus grandes.
How would you pronounce mapa and museus in European Portuguese?
• mapa is pronounced ['mapɐ]. Stress on the first syllable; the final -a is more closed (like the ‘a’ in sofa).
• museus has three syllables: mu-'ze-uʃ ([muˈze.uʃ]). The final -s is pronounced [ʃ] in most varieties of Portugal.
Could I say O mapa mostra todos os museus importantes da cidade? Is that correct?
Yes, that sentence is grammatically fine. It shifts da cidade to the end, emphasizing that it’s the museums of this city you’re showing on the map. Word order is more flexible in Portuguese, but the original is slightly more neutral.
If I want to say “all the most important museums,” how would I say it?
You would say todos os museus mais importantes. Here mais importantes is “most important.” Notice mais comes before the adjective, and the adjective still follows the noun.