Nós caminhamos pelo jardim.

We walk through the garden.

Breakdown of Nós caminhamos pelo jardim.

• nós: we
• o jardim: the garden
• caminhar: to walk
• pelo: by

Questions & Answers about Nós caminhamos pelo jardim.

Do I have to say Nós, or can I just say Caminhamos pelo jardim?

In Portuguese (especially European Portuguese), the subject pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending already shows the person:

• Nós caminhamos pelo jardim.
• Caminhamos pelo jardim.

Both are correct and mean We walk / we are walking through the garden.

Use Nós mainly:

• for emphasis: Nós caminhamos pelo jardim, não eles.
• to avoid confusion if the context is unclear.

In everyday speech, you will often hear Caminhamos pelo jardim without Nós.

Does caminhamos mean present tense (we walk) or past tense (we walked)?

Written form in European Portuguese:

• Nós caminhamos (no accent) = present
  → We walk / We are walking

• Nós caminhámos (with an accent on the á) = pretérito perfeito (simple past)
  → We walked

Your sentence Nós caminhamos pelo jardim. (without accent) is present tense.

In fast speech, caminhamos and caminhámos can sound very similar in European Portuguese, so context usually tells you whether it’s present or past. In writing, the accent clearly marks the past.

Is caminhar a regular verb? How is caminhamos formed?

Yes, caminhar is a regular -ar verb.

Present tense of caminhar:

• eu caminho – I walk
• tu caminhas – you walk (informal singular)
• ele / ela / você caminha – he / she / you walk
• nós caminhamos – we walk
• vós caminhais – you (plural, archaic/rare)
• eles / elas / vocês caminham – they / you (plural) walk

Nós caminhamos is simply the regular -amos ending for nós in the present tense of -ar verbs.

What’s the difference between caminhar and andar for “to walk”?

Both can mean to walk, but the usage is slightly different:

• caminhar

  • more literally to walk (on foot), often with a focus on moving or exercising:
  • Gosto de caminhar ao fim da tarde. – I like to go for a walk in the late afternoon.
  • Caminhamos pelo jardim. – We walk through the garden.

• andar

  • very common and versatile; can mean:
    • to walk (on foot): Ando muito a pé. – I walk a lot.
    • to go around / move around: Andas sempre de um lado para o outro.
    • to function/work: O carro não anda. – The car doesn’t work.
    • continuous/habitual states: Ando cansado. – I’ve been feeling tired.

In Nós caminhamos pelo jardim, caminhar emphasises the act of walking itself (like going for a walk or moving on foot through the garden). Nós andamos pelo jardim is also possible and natural, just a bit more general.

What exactly does pelo mean here?

Pelo is a contraction of the preposition por + the masculine singular article o:

• por + o = pelo → through / by / along the (masculine singular)

So:

• pelo jardim = por + o jardim → through the garden / around the garden

Other forms:

• por + a = pela → pela rua – through the street
• por + os = pelos → pelos jardins – through the gardens
• por + as = pelas → pelas casas – through the houses

Note: pelo can also mean hair / fur (a noun) in other sentences, but here it is clearly the preposition contraction por + o.

Why do we use por (in pelo) and not em (like no jardim)?

por and em express different spatial ideas:

• por (as in pelo jardim) suggests:

  • movement through, around, or across a space
  • Caminhamos pelo jardim. – We walk through/around the garden.

• em (as in no jardim = em + o jardim) suggests:

  • location in or at a place, not necessarily movement through it
  • Caminhamos no jardim. – We walk in the garden (we are inside it, walking there).

So:

• pelo jardim – highlights the path or route (through / across / about the garden)
• no jardim – highlights the location (in the garden)

Both are grammatically correct; which one you pick depends on the nuance you want.

Why is it pelo jardim and not por jardim without the article?

In Portuguese, places are very often used with a definite article:

• o jardim – the garden
• os jardins – the gardens

por + o jardim → pelo jardim is the normal way to talk about a specific garden both speaker and listener know (for example, the house garden, the park you’ve mentioned, etc.).

por jardim (without the article) would sound odd here; it would feel too generic or abstract, a bit like saying by garden in English. The natural, idiomatic option is pelo jardim.

How do you pronounce Nós caminhamos pelo jardim in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (simplified):

• Nós – [nɔʃ]

  • nasal ó (like nawsh but shorter, with a final sh sound)

• caminhamos – [kɐ.miˈɲɐ.muʃ] (EP)

  • ca-: [kɐ], like a very short, reduced kuh
  • -mi-: [mi], like mee
  • -nh-: [ɲɐ], like the ny in canyon but merged into one sound
  • final -mos: [muʃ], final s sounds like sh

• pelo – [ˈpe.lu]

  • pe-: like peh
  • -lo: like loo (short)

• jardim – [ʒɐɾˈdĩ]

  • j = [ʒ], like the s in measure
  • ar: [ɐɾ], very short vowel plus a light tapped r
  • dim: nasal ĩ, something like deeng but nasal, with a very soft ending

Rhythmically: Nós ca-mi-NHA-mos PE-lo jar-DIM (stress on -nhá- and -dim).

Can I change the word order, like Pelo jardim caminhamos nós?

Yes, Portuguese word order is more flexible than English, but changes in order usually change the emphasis:

Most natural / neutral:

• (Nós) caminhamos pelo jardim.

Also natural, dropping Nós:

• Caminhamos pelo jardim.

Marked or emphatic:

• Pelo jardim caminhamos (nós).
  • Emphasises pelo jardim (through the garden, as opposed to another place).
• Nós é que caminhamos pelo jardim.
  • Very emphatic: We are the ones who walk through the garden.

For everyday neutral speech, use:

• Nós caminhamos pelo jardim. or
• Caminhamos pelo jardim.

Is pelo the only option, or can I say this in other ways?

You can express similar ideas with different prepositions or phrases, each with a nuance:

• Caminhamos pelo jardim.

  • through / around the garden (neutral, very common)

• Caminhamos no jardim.

  • in the garden (focus on being inside that space)

• Caminhamos através do jardim.

  • across the garden / from one side to the other (more explicit sense of crossing)

• Caminhamos ao longo do jardim.

  • along the garden (walking beside its length, e.g., along a fence or path)

All are grammatical; pelo jardim is the most general and idiomatic for simply saying you walk around in/through the garden.

Is this sentence formal or informal? In what situations would it be used?

Nós caminhamos pelo jardim. is:

• grammatically neutral (neither particularly formal nor informal)
• suitable for:
  • everyday conversation
  • a written description or narrative
  • storytelling, diaries, simple reports

It could be:

• a habitual action: Todos os dias nós caminhamos pelo jardim. – Every day we walk through the garden.
• a current action (depending on context): Agora caminhamos pelo jardim. – Right now we’re walking through the garden.

The formality comes more from the context and surrounding language than from this sentence itself.

How do I make this sentence plural, like “We walk through the gardens”?

You need to pluralise jardim and adapt pelo accordingly:

• o jardim (singular) → os jardins (plural)
• por + o jardim = pelo jardim
• por + os jardins = pelos jardins

So:

• Nós caminhamos pelo jardim. – We walk through the garden.
• Nós caminhamos pelos jardins. – We walk through the gardens.

Note:

• plural of jardim is jardins (not jardims)
• pelo becomes pelos to match the plural masculine noun.