Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Nós caminhamos perto do rio.

Emphasis or contrast:
- Nós caminhamos, eles correm. – We walk, they run.
Clarity in a longer context where the subject might be confusing.

In short, both versions are correct; dropping nós is very common in everyday speech.

Does caminhamos mean “we walk” or “we walked”? How do I know the tense?

In European Portuguese spelling, there is a difference:

Nós caminhamos (without accent) = present tense
- We walk / we are walking.
Nós caminhámos (with á) = pretérito perfeito (simple past)
- We walked.

So:

Nós caminhamos perto do rio. – We walk near the river.
Nós caminhámos perto do rio. – We walked near the river.

In Brazilian Portuguese, both tenses are normally written caminhamos (no accent), and the tense is understood from context. In European Portuguese, the written accent á clearly marks the past in this person.

What’s the difference between caminhar and andar in Portugal?

Both can translate as to walk, but they aren’t used in exactly the same way, especially in Portugal:

andar is the more common everyday verb for “to walk”:
- Andamos perto do rio. – We walk near the river. / We are walking near the river.
caminhar often suggests:
- walking for exercise, for pleasure, or as a longer walk / hike
- a slightly more formal / neutral tone

Examples:

Gosto de caminhar ao fim de semana. – I like going for walks at the weekend.
Ando a pé para o trabalho. – I walk to work (literally “I go on foot”).

Your sentence is correct, but in casual European Portuguese you’d often hear Andamos perto do rio instead of Caminhamos perto do rio, depending on the context.

Could I say Estamos a caminhar perto do rio instead? Does it sound more like “we are walking”?

Yes. In European Portuguese, the progressive is usually formed with estar a + infinitive:

Estamos a caminhar perto do rio. – We are walking near the river (right now).

Compare:

Caminhamos perto do rio. – General habit or description (We walk near the river / We (often) walk near the river).
Estamos a caminhar perto do rio. – Ongoing action right now (We are walking near the river at this moment).

Both are correct; the second one focuses clearly on an action in progress.

Why is it perto de the river and not some other preposition?

The word perto (“near”) normally takes the preposition de:

perto de algo – near something

So you say:

perto de casa – near home
perto do rio – near the river
perto da escola – near the school

You don’t say perto o rio or perto ao rio. The fixed pattern is perto de + [thing].

What exactly is do in perto do rio?

Do is a contraction of:

de (preposition “of / from / near” here)
o (masculine singular definite article “the”)

So:

de + o = do

The full underlying structure is:

perto de o rio → perto do rio

Other similar contractions:

de + a = da – perto da praia (near the beach)
de + os = dos – perto dos carros (near the cars)
de + as = das – perto das árvores (near the trees)

Do I always need the article, like do rio, after perto de?

No, not always. It depends on how specific the noun is:

Specific thing → usually with article:
- perto do rio – near the (known/specific) river
- perto da escola – near the school
General or abstract use or proper names → often without article:
- perto de rios – near rivers (in general)
- perto de Lisboa – near Lisbon
- perto de casa – near home

So your perto do rio suggests a specific river that speaker and listener can identify from context.

Is rio masculine or feminine, and how do I know?

Rio (river) is masculine in Portuguese:

o rio – the river
do rio – of/from/near the river

That’s why you get do (de + o), not da (de + a).

There isn’t a simple rule that will tell you the gender of every noun, but some patterns help:

Many nouns ending in -o are masculine: o rio, o carro, o livro
Many ending in -a are feminine: a casa, a mesa, a praia

There are plenty of exceptions, so gender normally has to be learned with each noun.

Can I change the word order, like Nós perto do rio caminhamos?

In this kind of simple sentence, normal word order is:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Rest of the sentence]

So the natural version is:

Nós caminhamos perto do rio.

Other orders like:

Nós perto do rio caminhamos.
Perto do rio nós caminhamos.

are technically possible in certain contexts (for emphasis, in poetry, in very marked style), but they sound unusual or literary in everyday speech.

For normal conversation or writing, stick to:

Nós caminhamos perto do rio.
Or simply Caminhamos perto do rio.

What’s the difference between nós and nos?

They look similar but are different words:

nós (with accent) = subject pronoun “we”
- Nós caminhamos perto do rio. – We walk near the river.
nos (no accent) = clitic pronoun “us / to us / ourselves”
- Eles viram-nos. – They saw us.
- Ele deu-nos um livro. – He gave us a book.

In your sentence you need nós (with accent), because it’s the subject.

How should I pronounce Nós caminhamos perto do rio in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (Lisbon standard):

Nós – [nɔʃ] (similar to English “nosh,” but shorter)
caminhamos – [kɐ.mi.ˈɲɐ.muʃ]
- nh = [ɲ], like the ñ in Spanish niño
- final -mos pronounced [muʃ], with sh sound at the end
perto – [ˈpɛɾ.tu]
- r between vowels or after a consonant is a tap [ɾ], like a very quick “d” sound
do – [du]
rio – [ˈʁi.u]
- initial r is a throaty [ʁ], similar to French or German r

Put together: approximately
[nɔʃ kɐ.mi.ˈɲɐ.muʃ ˈpɛɾ.tu du ˈʁi.u]

Could I say something like Nós andamos a pé perto do rio instead of Nós caminhamos perto do rio?

Yes, and in Portugal that might even sound more natural in many everyday contexts:

Nós andamos a pé perto do rio. – We walk on foot near the river.

Nuance:

andar a pé = to go/walk on foot (emphasizes not using a vehicle)
caminhar = to walk, often for exercise, leisure, or as a “walk” itself

So:

Nós caminhamos perto do rio. – We walk near the river (could be a regular walk, a stroll, exercise).
Nós andamos a pé perto do rio. – We go on foot near the river (more explicit about on foot).

Both are correct; which you choose depends on the context and the nuance you want.