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A polícia carimba o passaporte na fronteira.

A polícia carimba o passaporte na fronteira.
The police stamp the passport at the border.
FromLesson 24inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of A polícia carimba o passaporte na fronteira.

em
in
a polícia
the police
o passaporte
the passport
a fronteira
the border
carimbar
to stamp

Questions & Answers about A polícia carimba o passaporte na fronteira.

Why does Portuguese use the article a before polícia? In English we just say “police.”
Portuguese requires a definite article before most nouns when they’re specific or known. Polícia is a collective noun (the police force) and feminine, so you say a polícia (“the police”) rather than dropping the article.
Why is the verb carimba singular rather than plural?
Carimba is the third-person singular form of carimbar, agreeing with the singular noun A polícia. In Portuguese, the police force is grammatically treated as a single entity.
What’s the difference between carimbar, carimba, and carimbo?
  • Carimbar: infinitive (“to stamp”)
  • Carimba: present indicative, third-person singular (“(he/she/it) stamps”)
  • Carimbo: noun meaning “stamp” (the inked mark or the physical tool)
Why do we say o passaporte instead of just passaporte?
Portuguese normally uses the definite article for specific, known items. Passaporte is masculine, so you say o passaporte (“the passport”) when referring to that document.
Should you say carimbar o passaporte or carimbar no passaporte?

Both are grammatically correct:

  • Carimbar o passaporte treats the passport as a direct object and is more concise.
  • Carimbar no passaporte (em + o = no) emphasizes the location of the stamp.
    In Portugal, carimbar o passaporte is the more common choice.
Why is the preposition em contracted to na before fronteira?
Fronteira is a feminine noun, so em + a (the feminine definite article) contracts to na, yielding na fronteira (“at the border”).
Could you use no instead of na here?
No, because no is em + o (reserved for masculine nouns). Since fronteira is feminine, you must use na.
Can you replace carimbar with selar in this sentence?

Yes. Selar means “to seal” and is often used in formal or legal contexts:
A polícia sela o passaporte na fronteira.
However, carimbar is more idiomatic when specifically talking about stamping.

Would it sound natural to change the word order to “A polícia na fronteira carimba o passaporte”?

Although grammatically possible, that order puts strong emphasis on na fronteira and can sound marked or poetic. The neutral, everyday sequence is Subject–Verb–Object–Location:
A polícia carimba o passaporte na fronteira.

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