No fim da semana, o Pedro juntou todos os resumos numa pasta.

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Questions & Answers about No fim da semana, o Pedro juntou todos os resumos numa pasta.

What exactly does No fim da semana mean, and how is it different from no fim de semana?

No fim da semana literally means “at the end of the week” (for example, on Friday, or towards the last days of the week).

No fim de semana means “at the weekend” (Saturday and Sunday).

So:

  • No fim da semana ≈ at the end of the week (still part of that working week)
  • No fim de semana ≈ at the weekend

They look very similar but are not interchangeable.

Why is it da in fim da semana, and not just de?

Da is a contraction of de + a:

  • de (of) + a (the, feminine singular) → da

Semana is feminine, so you use a (the) with it:

  • o fim da semana = the end of the week

Without the article it would be fim de semana, which has become a fixed expression meaning weekend. So:

  • o fim da semana = the end of the week
  • o fim de semana = the weekend (as a unit of time)
Can I say no final da semana instead of no fim da semana?

Yes. No final da semana and no fim da semana are both correct and very close in meaning.

  • fim and final can often be used almost interchangeably.
  • In everyday speech in Portugal, no fim da semana is more common and a bit more colloquial.
  • no final da semana can sound slightly more formal or careful, but it’s not a big difference.

For most situations, you can treat them as synonyms.

Why is it o Pedro and not just Pedro?

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article with people’s first names:

  • o Pedro, a Maria, o João

It often sounds more natural in Portugal, especially in informal or neutral speech.

You can also say the name without the article (Pedro) and it’s still correct, but in Portugal it may sound:

  • a bit more formal,
  • or a bit more “written”/bookish,
  • or used when you’re directly addressing the person: Pedro, vem cá.

In Brazilian Portuguese, using o Pedro/a Maria is much less common in standard speech and can sound regional or colloquial, depending on the area.

Could the sentence be No fim da semana, Pedro juntou todos os resumos numa pasta without the o? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

  • No fim da semana, o Pedro juntou...
  • No fim da semana, Pedro juntou...

Both are grammatically correct.

In European Portuguese:

  • o Pedro feels more typical and colloquial/natural in everyday speech.
  • Pedro (without article) may feel:
    • a bit more formal,
    • more like written style (narration, news, etc.),
    • or neutral when you’re writing a simple exercise sentence.

Meaning-wise, there is no real difference; it’s mostly style and regional habit.

What tense is juntou, and why is it used here?

Juntou is the 3rd person singular of the pretérito perfeito (simple past) of juntar.

  • juntar = to gather, to put together
  • ele/ela juntou = he/she gathered / put together

The pretérito perfeito in Portuguese is used for completed actions in the past, often seen as one whole event:

  • O Pedro juntou todos os resumos = Pedro gathered all the summaries (he did it, it’s finished).

You would not use the imperfect (juntava) here, because you’re not describing an ongoing or habitual action; it’s a single, completed event.

What nuance does the verb juntar have here? Could you use other verbs?

Here juntar means to put together in one place / to gather into one group or container.

So:

  • juntar todos os resumos numa pasta = to gather all the summaries and place them together in one folder.

You could also hear:

  • reunir todos os resumos numa pasta – very similar, maybe a bit more formal.
  • pôr todos os resumos numa pasta – more neutral “put all the summaries in a folder”.
  • guardar todos os resumos numa pasta – “store/keep all the summaries in a folder”.

Juntar emphasizes the idea of bringing separate things together into one set.

Why is it todos os resumos and not todos resumos?

In Portuguese, when you use todo(s) + a countable noun, you almost always need the article:

  • todos os resumos = literally “all the summaries”
  • pattern: todo(s) + o(s)/a(s) + noun

So you say:

  • todas as semanas (every/all the weeks)
  • todos os dias (every/all the days)
  • todas as pessoas (all the people)

Todos resumos without os is not standard; it sounds wrong to native speakers in this context.

What does numa mean in numa pasta?

Numa is a contraction of em + uma:

  • em (in) + uma (a, feminine singular) → numa

So:

  • numa pasta = em uma pasta = in a folder / into a folder

In European Portuguese, these contractions are very common and sound more natural:

  • em + o → no (no carro = in the car)
  • em + a → na (na pasta = in the folder)
  • em + um → num (num livro = in a book)
  • em + uma → numa (numa pasta = in a folder)
Why is it numa pasta and not na pasta?

The choice between numa pasta and na pasta is about definiteness:

  • numa pasta = in a folder (some folder, not specified which)
  • na pasta = in the folder (a specific folder both speaker and listener know)

In the sentence, numa pasta suggests that Pedro just chose a folder (one folder) for this purpose, without specifying exactly which folder.

Does pasta here mean “pasta” like the food?

No. In European Portuguese:

  • pasta (feminine noun) most commonly means folder or file, especially:
    • a physical document folder
    • a folder on a computer

For the food “pasta” (as in Italian pasta), Portuguese uses:

  • massa (e.g. massa com molho de tomate = pasta with tomato sauce)

So in this sentence, pasta is definitely a folder, not food.

Could the word order be No fim da semana, o Pedro juntou numa pasta todos os resumos? Is that correct?

Yes, that word order is also grammatically correct:

  • No fim da semana, o Pedro juntou todos os resumos numa pasta.
  • No fim da semana, o Pedro juntou numa pasta todos os resumos.

Both are possible.

The original version (juntou todos os resumos numa pasta) is more neutral and common.
Putting numa pasta earlier (juntou numa pasta todos os resumos) slightly emphasizes the folder (“it was into a folder that he gathered them”), but the difference is small in everyday speech.