Breakdown of A Maria encontrou uma pechincha online.
Questions & Answers about A Maria encontrou uma pechincha online.
In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article before first names: a Maria, o João. It doesn’t add “the” meaning; it just sounds natural and can even signal familiarity. You typically drop the article when directly addressing someone (vocative) or in more formal writing.
- Natural: Vi a Maria ontem. (I saw Maria yesterday.)
- Vocative: Maria, vem cá! (Maria, come here.)
- Formal/neutral writing may use: Maria encontrou…
Here, A is the definite article (feminine singular). À (with grave accent) is the contraction of the preposition a (to) + article a (the), used with verbs that take “to”:
- Dei o presente à Maria. (I gave the gift to Maria.)
- Vi a Maria. (I saw Maria.) — no preposition, just the article.
Encontrou is 3rd person singular in the Pretérito Perfeito Simples (simple past), a single completed action in the past. Regular conjugation of encontrar in this tense (EU Portuguese):
- eu encontrei
- tu encontraste
- ele/ela/você encontrou
- nós encontrámos (in Portugal you’ll usually see the accent to mark past)
- eles/elas/vocês encontraram
They mean different past nuances:
- encontrou = completed one-off event (She found).
- encontrava = was finding/used to find (ongoing or habitual in the past).
- estava a encontrar = was in the middle of finding (progressive; backgrounded event).
- tem encontrado = has been finding (repeated actions up to now; in Portugal this “present perfect” expresses repetition over time, not one specific event).
Pechincha is a feminine, countable noun meaning a great bargain/steal (something unexpectedly cheap for its value).
- Article: uma pechincha / a pechincha
- Plural: pechinchas
- Close alternatives in Portugal: um bom negócio, uma boa oportunidade, uma promoção (on sale), saldos (sale season). Common collocation: apanhar/arranjar uma pechincha (to snag a bargain).
It’s informal/colloquial but very common and perfectly acceptable in everyday speech and writing. Related verbs:
- pechinchar = to haggle
- regatear = to bargain/haggle (a bit more formal/neutral than “pechinchar”)
Yes, online is standard and widespread in Portugal. Alternatives:
- na internet (on the internet)
- num site (on a website) Older spelling on-line still appears but online is now preferred; em linha exists in formal/official registers but is uncommon in everyday speech.
Approximate EP pronunciations (IPA + an English-friendly hint):
- A Maria [ɐ mɐˈɾi.ɐ] ≈ “uh muh-REE-uh” (r is a quick tap)
- encontrou [ẽkõˈtɾo] ≈ “eng-kon-TROH” (nasal “en”; “ou” like “oh”)
- uma [ˈumɐ] ≈ “OO-muh”
- pechincha [pɨˈʃĩʃɐ] ≈ “puh-SHEEN-shuh” (ch = “sh”, “in” is nasal)
- online often close to English: [õnˈlajn] (“on-LINE”) or [õnˈlin] (“on-LEEN”)
- Yes/no: keep the word order and use rising intonation: A Maria encontrou uma pechincha online?
- More formal inversion is possible: Encontrou a Maria uma pechincha online?
- Negative: place não before the verb: A Maria não encontrou uma pechincha online.
Use the feminine direct object clitic a, attached to the verb in affirmative clauses:
- A Maria encontrou uma pechincha online. Comprou-a logo. After negatives or certain starters, the clitic goes before the verb:
- A Maria não a comprou. (You can also avoid a pronoun and just repeat the noun for clarity.)
Yes:
- Portugal: A Maria encontrou uma pechincha online. (article before name; prefer “encontrar”)
- Brazil: more likely Maria achou uma pechincha online/na internet. (usually no article before names; “achar” commonly means “to find”)