Breakdown of O detergente cheira bem, e o aspirador novo é silencioso.
Questions & Answers about O detergente cheira bem, e o aspirador novo é silencioso.
Do I need the comma before the conjunction e?
Usually no. Portuguese typically doesn’t use a comma before e when it simply links two clauses. A comma can appear if you want to mark a pause or clearly separate two independent clauses with different subjects. Here, it’s optional. Most editors would write:
- O detergente cheira bem e o aspirador novo é silencioso.
Why is it cheira bem and not cheira bom?
Because bem is an adverb modifying the verb cheirar. In Portuguese, when you say something “smells good/bad,” you use adverbs: cheira bem (smells good), cheira mal (smells bad).
- Use bom/mau (adjectives) with nouns: cheiro bom/cheiro mau (a good/bad smell).
- You can also say: tem um cheiro bom/agradável (it has a good/pleasant smell).
- If you want to say it smells like something good: cheira a bom café (it smells like good coffee).
What’s the difference between cheirar, cheirar a, and cheiro?
- cheirar (intransitive): describes emitting a smell. Example: O detergente cheira bem.
- cheirar a + noun: “to smell like/of.” Example: Cheira a limão. (It smells like lemon.)
- cheirar + object (transitive): “to sniff/smell” something actively. Example: Cheira o detergente. (Smell the detergent.)
- cheiro (noun): “smell/scent.” Example: O cheiro do detergente é agradável.
Why o detergente and o aspirador? Are these nouns masculine?
Yes. detergente and aspirador are masculine in European Portuguese, so they take o in the singular and os in the plural:
- Singular: o detergente, o aspirador
- Plural: os detergentes, os aspiradores Indefinite forms: um detergente, um aspirador
Why is the adjective novo after the noun (o aspirador novo)? Can it go before?
Both positions are possible, but the meaning shifts slightly:
- o aspirador novo (post-nominal): literally new (brand-new/unused) or newly acquired.
- o novo aspirador (pre-nominal): often “the new/different replacement” (new to you compared to the old one), a bit more subjective or contrastive. Context often makes the nuance clear.
Why silencioso and not silenciosa? How does agreement work?
Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number. aspirador is masculine singular, so:
Why é silencioso and not está silencioso?
What’s the opposite of silencioso?
Is aspirador the usual word in Portugal? I’ve seen aspirador de pó.
Does detergente mean dish soap or laundry detergent in Portugal?
How would this sentence look in the plural?
Can I drop the second article and say: O detergente cheira bem e aspirador novo é silencioso?
Is there a simple rule to remember bem vs bom?
What’s another way to say “smells good”?
Any quick pronunciation tips for these words in European Portuguese?
- detergente: de-ter-JEN-te. Final “e” is reduced; “g” before “e” sounds like the “s” in “measure.”
- cheira: SHEY-rah. ch = “sh”; ei like “ey” in “they.”
- bem: bayng (nasal “em” at the end; don’t fully pronounce the “m”).
- aspirador: uh-spee-rah-DOR (stress on the last syllable; flap the “r” between vowels).
- novo: NOH-voo (clear “v,” not “b”).
- é: open “eh” sound.
- silencioso: si-len-see-OH-zoo (the “c” before “i” is “s”; stress on “o-so”).
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