Breakdown of Eu recupero as minhas forças depois de descansar.
eu
I
minha
my
descansar
to rest
depois de
after
recuperar
to recover
a força
the strength
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Questions & Answers about Eu recupero as minhas forças depois de descansar.
Why do we include eu at the beginning of the sentence? Is it necessary?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language, which means the verb ending already indicates the subject. Recupero implies “I recover,” so you could simply say Recupero as minhas forças depois de descansar. Including eu adds emphasis or clarity, especially in spoken European Portuguese.
Why is the verb recupero in the present tense? How is it formed?
Recuperar is a regular –ar verb. In the present indicative, the endings are:
- eu recupero
- tu recuperas
- ele/ela recupera
- nós recuperamos
- vós recuperais
- eles/elas recuperam
Here recupero means “I recover” or “I regain,” indicating a habitual or general present action.
In recupero as minhas forças, why do we use as before minhas forças? Could we omit it?
In European Portuguese, it’s standard to place the definite article before a possessive: as minhas forças, o meu carro, a tua casa. You can drop as (just minhas forças), but it’s less common in Portugal and may sound slightly off.
Why is the possessive minhas placed before the noun? Can it go after?
The normal order in Portuguese is possessive adjective + noun, as in minhas forças, meu livro. Placing it after—for example, forças minhas—is possible for poetic effect or emphasis, but it’s not the everyday word order.
Why do we say depois de descansar and not depois descansar or depois de descansando?
When you follow depois (“after”) with a verb, you must use the preposition de, and the verb stays in the infinitive: depois de + infinitive. You cannot drop de, nor use a gerund (descansando) in this construction.
Since descansar is an infinitive, how do we know who rests? Could we say depois de eu descansar?
The impersonal infinitive descansar doesn’t mark a subject, so context implies the speaker. If you want to make the subject explicit, you can use the personal infinitive with the pronoun: depois de eu descansar. In everyday speech, though, depois de descansar is more concise and common.
Can we make recuperar reflexive—e.g. eu recupero-me—instead of using a direct object?
While Portuguese allows a reflexive form (recuperar-se), it’s rare in modern usage. The natural pattern is recuperar algo (recover something), so recupero as minhas forças is preferred. Saying eu me recupero or eu recupero-me may sound unusual or overly formal.
Are there other ways to express “I regain my strength” in Portuguese?
Yes. Common alternatives include:
• Recuperar a energia (“recover energy”)
• Recarregar as baterias (idiomatic: “recharge the batteries”)
• Revigorar-me (more formal: “revigorate myself”)
But recuperar as forças is the direct equivalent of “regain my strength.”