Breakdown of No domingo, caminhámos até ao lago perto da aldeia.
de
of
nós
we
em
in
a
to
perto
near
caminhar
to walk
até
to
a aldeia
the village
o domingo
the Sunday
o lago
the lake
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Questions & Answers about No domingo, caminhámos até ao lago perto da aldeia.
Why do we say No domingo instead of just Domingo?
In Portuguese you normally use the definite article with days of the week plus the preposition em to mean “on Sunday.” The preposition and article contract: em + o domingo → no domingo.
What tense is caminhámos, and how do I recognize it?
Caminhámos is the pretérito perfeito simples (simple past) for nós (“we walked”). In European Portuguese the ending is -ámos (compare infinitive caminhar). The acute accent on the á marks the stressed vowel and distinguishes it from other forms like caminharmos (infinitive).
Why isn’t the subject pronoun nós written before caminhámos?
Subject pronouns are optional in Portuguese because the verb ending already tells you the subject. Here, -ámos indicates “we,” so nós is omitted as redundant.
What’s the difference between até and até ao?
Até by itself can mean “until” or “up to,” but when indicating motion “as far as” somewhere, you need a preposition + article if the place is definite. For a masculine noun like lago, até + o → até ao lago (“up to the lake”).
Why do we say perto da aldeia instead of perto de aldeia?
The expression perto de (“near”) requires the preposition de plus the definite article. Since aldeia is feminine, you contract de + a → da, giving perto da aldeia.
Could I say caminhámos até o lago and skip the contraction?
No. Standard Portuguese requires the contraction (até ao). Writing até o lago without contracting is considered ungrammatical.
Can I specify “last Sunday” instead of just “Sunday”?
Yes. To say “last Sunday” you would add passado(a):
– “No domingo passado, caminhámos até ao lago…”
The adjective passado follows the noun and still contracts (em + o → no).
If I want to use a plural subject like “we (all),” is it any different?
The verb ending -ámos already covers “we.” Adding nós for emphasis (e.g. Nós caminhámos…) is possible but optional and less common in speech unless you want to stress “we” specifically.