Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Comprámos fiambre e manteiga no mercado.

It’s the preterite (simple past) of comprar for nós (“we”). In European Portuguese, the accent distinguishes past comprámos (“we bought”) from present compramos (“we buy”). It also marks the stressed syllable: com-prá-mos.

How would the meaning change if it were Compramos fiambre e manteiga no mercado (no accent)?

Without the accent it’s present tense: “we buy ham and butter at the market” (habitual/regular action). With the accent, it’s a completed past event.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence in European Portuguese?

Approximate IPA: [kõˈpɾamuʃ fiˈɐ̃bɾɨ i mɐ̃ˈtɐjɡɐ nu mɨɾˈkaðu]

Rough guide:

Comprámos: “kohm-PRAH-moosh” (final s ≈ “sh” in Portugal)
fiambre: “fee-AHM-br(uh)” (the “am” is nasal; final “e” is a weak, half-closed sound)
e (and): “ee”
manteiga: “mãn-TAY-guh” (first vowel nasal; “ei” like English “ay”)
no: “noo”
mercado: “muhR-KAH-doo” (initial “e” reduced; tapped r)

Why is there no article before fiambre and manteiga?

They’re being treated as mass nouns. Portuguese often omits an article where English would use “some.” You could add a measure if needed:

Comprámos 200 gramas de fiambre.
Comprámos um pacote de manteiga. Using the definite article (e.g., o fiambre, a manteiga) would refer to specific, known items.

What exactly does fiambre mean? How is it different from presunto?

In Portugal, fiambre is cooked, sliced deli ham. Presunto is dry-cured ham (like prosciutto). In Brazil, presunto often covers what Europeans call fiambre, and fiambre is rare.

What is no here?

It’s a contraction of the preposition em (“in/at”) + the masculine singular article o (“the”): em + o → no.

Feminine: na (em + a)
Plural masculine: nos (em + os)
Plural feminine: nas (em + as)

Does no mean “to the” as well?

No. no means “in/at the.” To express movement “to the,” use:

ao mercado (a + o) or
para o mercado (often more neutral “to”). Example: Fomos ao mercado (“We went to the market”).

Can I move no mercado to another position?

Yes. Common options:

No mercado, comprámos fiambre e manteiga. (fronted for emphasis on location)
Comprámos, no mercado, fiambre e manteiga. (parenthetical, more formal) The original order is the most neutral.

What are the genders of the nouns here?

fiambre: masculine (o fiambre)
manteiga: feminine (a manteiga)
mercado: masculine (o mercado) Hence the contraction no (em + o).

How would I specify quantities naturally?

Comprámos 200 gramas de fiambre.
Comprámos uma barra/pacote de manteiga.
Comprámos um pouco de fiambre e um pouco de manteiga.
Comprámos duas embalagens de manteiga.

How can I emphasize that it was specifically at the market?

Use a cleft sentence: Foi no mercado que comprámos fiambre e manteiga. This strongly focuses the location (“It was at the market that…”).

How would I add an object pronoun, like “We bought it at the market”?

In European Portuguese, at sentence start the object pronoun enclises to the verb with a hyphen:

If “it” = masculine (e.g., o fiambre): Comprámo-lo no mercado.
If “it” = feminine (e.g., a manteiga): Comprámo-la no mercado. Note the spelling change: comprámos + o → comprámo-lo (s → l before “o/a/os/as”).

Is there any European vs Brazilian difference with this sentence?

Spelling/tense: In Brazil, both present and past for “we” are usually compramos (no accent); context clarifies tense.
Pronunciation: final “s” is [s] in Brazil vs [ʃ] in Portugal.
Vocabulary: Brazilians would typically say presunto instead of fiambre.

How would I say “we used to buy ham and butter at the market”?

Use the imperfect for habitual past: Comprávamos fiambre e manteiga no mercado.

How do I say “we have bought ham and butter at the market” in European Portuguese?

Literally, Temos comprado fiambre e manteiga no mercado suggests a repeated action up to now (not a single completed purchase). For a one-off completed event—what English often expresses with “have bought”—European Portuguese prefers the simple past: Comprámos fiambre e manteiga no mercado.