Breakdown of Ontem à noite, a lua estava cheia e muito brilhante.
estar
to be
e
and
a noite
the night
muito
very
ontem
yesterday
cheio
full
brilhante
bright
à
at
a lua
the moon
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Questions & Answers about Ontem à noite, a lua estava cheia e muito brilhante.
Why is there a grave accent on à in ontem à noite?
The grave accent marks the crase (contraction) of the preposition a and the feminine article a → à. This gives ontem à noite instead of the incorrect ontem a a noite.
Why do we say ontem à noite instead of ontem de noite?
When expressing last night, Portuguese uses the fixed phrase ontem à noite. Ontem de noite is not used. Note that de noite can appear elsewhere, for example trabalho de noite = I work nights.
Why is there a comma after ontem à noite?
Ontem à noite is an introductory time expression. In Portuguese, like in English, introductory adverbial phrases are typically followed by a comma to separate them from the main clause.
Why is there a definite article a before lua?
Portuguese generally requires a definite article before nouns, including celestial objects. A lua means the moon. Omitting the article (just lua) would sound incomplete or poetic.
How do we know lua is feminine?
Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine in Portuguese. Here the article a and the adjective cheia (feminine form) confirm that lua is feminine.
Why is estava used here instead of foi, era, or esteve?
Estava is the imperfect tense of estar, used for describing past ongoing states or background scenes. The moon being full is a temporary condition. Using foi/era (forms of ser) or esteve (preterite of estar) would imply a completed or punctual event, not a continuous description.
Why is the adjective cheia placed after lua, and why does it agree in gender and number?
In Portuguese, descriptive adjectives typically follow the noun. They must agree with the noun’s gender (feminine) and number (singular), so we use cheia rather than cheio.
Why is it muito brilhante and not muita brilhante?
Here muito is an adverb modifying the adjective brilhante, so it remains in its base form. Only when muito functions as an adjective (e.g. muita luz) does it agree in gender and number.
How do you pronounce Ontem à noite, a lua estava cheia e muito brilhante.?
European Portuguese approximation:
/ˈõ.tẽj ɐ ˈnoj.tɨ, a ˈlu.ɐ ɨʃˈta.vɐ ˈʃej.ɐ i ˈmu.tu bɾiʎˈjɐ̃.tɨ/
Rough English-style guide:
OHN-teh(ng) ah NOY-tuh, ah LOO-ah es-TAH-vuh SHAY-uh ee MOO-too bree-LYAN-chee.