Breakdown of O Pedro levou o lixo ao contentor antes de sair de casa.
Pedro
Pedro
a casa
the house
antes de
before
de
from
sair
to leave
levar
to take
o lixo
the trash
o contentor
the bin
Questions & Answers about O Pedro levou o lixo ao contentor antes de sair de casa.
Why is there a definite article O before Pedro?
In European Portuguese it’s very common to put a definite article before people’s names in casual speech. So O Pedro simply means “Pedro” but feels more natural in Portugal. In Brazilian Portuguese it happens less often, but in Portugal you’ll hear o João, a Maria, etc., whenever someone refers to a familiar person.
What does levou mean, and why not use “took” or “brought”?
Levou is the 3rd-person-singular preterite of levar. It literally means “he/she took” or “carried” something from one place to another. In Portuguese you distinguish levar (to take away from the speaker’s location) from trazer (to bring toward the speaker). Here, Pedro carried the trash away from home, so you use levar → levou (“he took/ carried”).
Why is it ao contentor and not just a contentor?
In Portuguese, the preposition a (“to”) plus the definite article o (“the”) contracts into ao. So a + o contentor becomes ao contentor (“to the container/bin”). If it were feminine you’d have à (a + a).
What’s the difference between contentor, lixeira, and caixote do lixo?
In Portugal:
- Contentor = large public/industrial bin (the big ones on streets or recycling points).
- Caixote do lixo = medium-sized street bin or small dumpster.
- Lixeira (more Brazilian) = small indoor trash can, like in your kitchen or bathroom.
Why is there no article before casa in sair de casa?
When you talk about leaving or arriving home (in general), Portuguese omits the article: sair de casa (“to leave home”) or chegar a casa (“to arrive home”). If you’re referring to a specific house, you might say sair da casa (de + a = da) or chegar à casa, but for the generic “home” usage the article is dropped.
How does antes de work with the verb?
Antes de is a conjunction that must be followed by an infinitive: antes de sair (“before leaving”). You do not conjugate the verb after antes de, and you don’t insert an article. It’s the standard way to say “before doing something.”
Why is o lixo definite here?
Portuguese generally requires articles before nouns: o lixo = “the trash.” Here it’s specific trash—what Pedro needs to dispose of—so it’s definite. In English you might say “take out the trash” or “take out trash,” but in Portuguese you usually need o in front of “lixo.”
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