Breakdown of Eu pinto o pôr-do-sol no meu quadro.
eu
I
meu
my
em
in
o quadro
the painting
pintar
to paint
o pôr-do-sol
the sunset
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Questions & Answers about Eu pinto o pôr-do-sol no meu quadro.
Why is pôr-do-sol hyphenated in European Portuguese?
Because pôr-do-sol is a fixed compound noun formed by the infinitive pôr, the preposition de (contracted to “do”) and sol. European Portuguese orthographic rules require hyphens to link these elements into a single lexical unit meaning “sunset.”
Why does pôr carry a circumflex accent on the ô?
The circumflex in pôr distinguishes the verb “to put” (or in compounds “the act of putting”) from the preposition por. It also signals a closed-mid vowel [o], so you don’t confuse pronunciation or meaning.
Why is there a definite article o before pôr-do-sol?
Portuguese typically uses definite articles before nouns, including compounds. Here o agrees in gender (masculine) and number (singular) with pôr-do-sol, literally “the sunset.”
What tense is pinto, and why not estou pintando?
pinto is the simple present tense, first person singular. In European Portuguese, the simple present often covers both habitual actions (“I paint regularly”) and ongoing actions (“I am painting” right now). You could say estou a pintar or estou pintando to emphasize the continuous aspect, but pinto is perfectly natural.
Can you drop the subject pronoun eu in Portuguese?
Yes. Portuguese is a pro-drop language, meaning verb endings already encode person and number. Saying Pinto o pôr-do-sol no meu quadro without eu is common and idiomatic.
What does the contraction no stand for in no meu quadro?
no is the contraction of the preposition em + the masculine singular definite article o. So no meu quadro = em o meu quadro = “on/in my painting.”
Why is meu used instead of minha?
Possessive adjectives in Portuguese agree with the gender and number of the noun they modify. quadro is masculine singular, so you use meu, not minha.
Why is the direct object (o pôr-do-sol) placed before the location phrase (no meu quadro)?
The default word order in Portuguese is Subject–Verb–Object–Adverbial (location). Placing the direct object right after the verb keeps the sentence clear:
Eu (S) pinto (V) o pôr-do-sol (O) no meu quadro (Loc).
What’s the difference between quadro and pintura in this context?
quadro usually refers to the physical painting (the canvas or framed artwork). pintura can mean the act of painting, the medium, or the style (“a pintura impressionista”). Here quadro emphasizes the canvas where you paint.
Could you omit the article and write pinto pôr-do-sol no meu quadro?
In standard speech and writing, articles are required before common nouns like pôr-do-sol. Omitting o would sound ungrammatical or overly telegraphic. You’ll almost always hear or see pinto o pôr-do-sol rather than dropping the article.