Breakdown of Gosto de caminhar quando a lua ilumina a rua.
eu
I
gostar de
to like
quando
when
a rua
the street
caminhar
to walk
a lua
the moon
iluminar
to light up
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Questions & Answers about Gosto de caminhar quando a lua ilumina a rua.
Why is gostar followed by de, and why does caminhar stay in the infinitive form?
In Portuguese, verbs that express liking—like gostar—always take the preposition de before their object. When that object is another verb, it remains in the infinitive. So gosto de caminhar literally means “I like of walking,” which in English we render “I like to walk.”
What’s the difference between caminhar and andar?
Both verbs can mean “to walk.” Caminhar is a bit more formal and often highlights walking as an activity or exercise. Andar is more general (“to go” or “to walk”) and very common in everyday speech. In this sentence you could perfectly say Gosto de andar quando a lua ilumina a rua without changing the meaning.
Why do we say a lua and a rua instead of just lua and rua?
Portuguese typically uses definite articles before most nouns. Unlike English, you almost always keep o or a. Hence a lua (“the moon”) and a rua (“the street”).
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like eu or ela?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the verb endings already tell you the subject. Gosto implies eu, and ilumina implies ela (the moon). You’d only add eu or ela for emphasis or clarity.
Why is ilumina in the present indicative and not in a subjunctive or future form?
Here quando introduces a habitual or general situation, so you use the present indicative (ilumina). If you were referring to a specific future event, you’d switch to the future subjunctive: quando a lua iluminar a rua.
Can I start with the quando clause or add commas like in English?
Yes. If the time clause comes first, use a comma:
Quando a lua ilumina a rua, gosto de caminhar.
But if it follows the main clause, no comma is needed:
Gosto de caminhar quando a lua ilumina a rua.
Is it correct to say quando que instead of quando?
In European Portuguese, the standard is just quando. Quando que is colloquial and mostly heard in informal Brazilian speech. Avoid it in formal or written European Portuguese.
Should we use na rua if we mean “walk in/on the street”?
Not here—na rua (em + a rua) indicates location (“I like to walk on the street”). In our sentence, a rua is the object of iluminar (“when the moon illuminates the street”). If you want to express location instead, you’d say Gosto de caminhar na rua.