Breakdown of Esse prémio foi entregue pela gerente da empresa.
ser
to be
de
of
por
by
a empresa
the company
esse
that
o prémio
the award
entregar
to hand over
a gerente
the manager
Questions & Answers about Esse prémio foi entregue pela gerente da empresa.
What does foi entregue mean and how is the passive voice formed in Portuguese?
Foi entregue means “was delivered” or “was awarded.” In Portuguese the passive voice is built with:
- An appropriate tense of ser (here foi = 3rd person singular, past preterite of ser)
- the past participle of the main verb (entregue, from entregar).
Why is pela used here and what does it stand for?
Pela is the contraction of por + a. In passive constructions por marks the agent (“by…”), and a is the definite article for the feminine noun gerente.
So pela gerente = “by the (female) manager.”
Why does the sentence say da empresa and not de a empresa?
Da is simply the contracted form of de + a. That contraction is mandatory in Portuguese whenever de is followed by the feminine singular definite article a.
So de + a empresa → da empresa (“of the company”).
Why is esse prémio used instead of este prémio or aquele prémio?
Portuguese demonstratives distinguish proximity:
- este = near the speaker
- esse = near the listener or referring back to something just mentioned
- aquele = far from both
Here esse prémio points to “that award” (probably already introduced or closer to the listener).
How would you express the same idea in the active voice?
Can gerente refer to a male manager as well?
Why is the past participle entregue and not entregado?
Portuguese has two participles for entregar:
- Regular: entregado
- Irregular: entregue
Both are correct, but entregue is more commonly used in formal passive constructions in European Portuguese.
What’s the difference between foi entregue and está entregue?
- Foi entregue uses ser
- past participle to focus on the action (“it was delivered/awarded”).
- Está entregue uses estar
- past participle to describe the current state (“it is delivered/awarded,” implying it remains in that condition).
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