Encontrei a mala no autocarro.

I found the bag on the bus.

Breakdown of Encontrei a mala no autocarro.

• eu: I
• em: in
• encontrar: to find
• o autocarro: the bus
• a mala: the bag

Questions & Answers about Encontrei a mala no autocarro.

Why is the subject pronoun eu not used before encontrei?

Portuguese is a pro-drop (null-subject) language, which means the verb ending already tells you who the subject is. In encontrei, the “-ei” ending marks 1st person singular, so eu is unnecessary. You can include eu only for emphasis:
• Eu encontrei a mala no autocarro.

What tense is encontrei, and how is it formed?

Encontrei is the pretérito perfeito simples (simple past) of encontrar, used for completed actions in the past. Conjugation in European Portuguese:
• eu encontrei
• tu encontraste
• ele/ela/você encontrou
• nós encontrámos
• vós encontrastes
• eles/elas/vocês encontraram

Why do we say a mala instead of uma mala here?

Using the definite article a signals a specific suitcase (the one you were looking for, or that both speaker and listener have in mind). If you said uma mala, it would mean “some/any suitcase” (indefinite, not necessarily the one you expected).

What is the nuance between encontrar and achar?

• encontrar usually means to physically locate or come across something you didn’t have in hand.
• achar can also mean “to find” physically but is more common for opinions (“I find it interesting” = acho interessante) or less formal contexts (“Consegui achar o livro” = I managed to find the book).

What does no in no autocarro stand for?

No is the contraction of the preposition em + the masculine singular article o. So no autocarro literally means “in the bus.”

Why autocarro and not ônibus?

Autocarro is the standard word for “bus” in European Portuguese. In Brazilian Portuguese you would say ônibus.

How can I replace a mala with a pronoun, and where does it go in the sentence?

The direct-object pronoun for mala (feminine singular) is a. In an affirmative main clause you attach it to the verb (enclisis):
Encontrei-a no autocarro.
In a negative or question form, the pronoun comes before the verb (proclisis):
Não a encontrei no autocarro.

Could I say encontrei a mala dentro do autocarro instead of no autocarro?

Yes, dentro do adds emphasis on being “inside” the bus, but it’s more wordy. Native speakers usually prefer no autocarro, which already conveys “inside/on the bus.”