Ontem, o telescópio foi reparado por técnicos do laboratório.

Yesterday, the telescope was repaired by technicians from the laboratory.

Breakdown of Ontem, o telescópio foi reparado por técnicos do laboratório.

• ser: to be
• ontem: yesterday
• de: from
• por: by
• o técnico: the technician
• o telescópio: the telescope
• reparado: repaired
• o laboratório: the laboratory

Questions & Answers about Ontem, o telescópio foi reparado por técnicos do laboratório.

Why do we use foi reparado instead of just reparou?

Foi reparado is a passive voice form:

• foi = past tense of ser (to be)
• reparado = past participle of reparar (to repair)

So foi reparado literally means “was repaired”, focusing on the telescópio (the object affected) rather than on who did the action.

If you said reparou, that’s active voice, 3rd person singular of the verb reparar:

• reparou = “(he / she / it / somebody) repaired”

To express the same idea in active voice you’d say:

• Ontem, os técnicos do laboratório repararam o telescópio.
  (“Yesterday, the technicians from the laboratory repaired the telescope.”)

So:

• foi reparado → passive, object-focused
• reparou / repararam → active, subject-focused

Why does reparado end in -o? Shouldn’t it agree with técnicos?

In the passive voice, the past participle (reparado) agrees with the subject of the sentence, not with the person who performs the action.

• Subject: o telescópio → masculine, singular
• Therefore: reparado → masculine, singular

If the subject were feminine plural, for example:

• As máquinas foram reparadas por técnicos do laboratório.
  
  • as máquinas (feminine plural)
  • reparadas (feminine plural)

So reparado matches o telescópio, not técnicos.

Why do we use por in por técnicos do laboratório and not para?

In passive sentences, por is the standard preposition to introduce the agent (the person/thing that does the action):

• foi reparado por técnicos do laboratório
  = “was repaired by technicians from the laboratory”

Here, por corresponds to English “by”.

Para is used more for purpose/destination (“for, in order to”), not for the agent in a passive sentence. So:

• ✅ foi reparado por técnicos (was repaired by technicians)
• ❌ foi reparado para técnicos (would imply “was repaired for technicians”, a different meaning)

Why is there a comma after Ontem? Could we move ontem in the sentence?

Ontem is an adverb of time placed at the beginning of the sentence. In Portuguese, when you put an adverbial phrase like this in front, it’s very common (though not strictly mandatory) to separate it with a comma:

• Ontem, o telescópio foi reparado por técnicos do laboratório.

You can also place ontem in other positions, usually without a comma:

• O telescópio foi reparado ontem por técnicos do laboratório.
• O telescópio foi ontem reparado por técnicos do laboratório. (more formal / written style)

All of these are grammatically correct. The version given simply highlights the time frame Ontem at the start.

Why do we say o telescópio with “o”? Could we say just telescópio?

In Portuguese, the definite article (o, a, os, as) is used more frequently than in English.

Here, we are talking about a specific telescope, known in the context. That’s why o telescópio (the telescope) is natural.

• Ontem, o telescópio foi reparado… – sounds like “Yesterday, the telescope was repaired…”

If you said only telescópio, without o, it would sound incomplete or odd in this context. You normally need the article with a concrete, specific countable noun used as subject.

What exactly does do mean in técnicos do laboratório?

do is a contraction of the preposition de + the masculine singular article o:

• de
  • o → do

So:

• técnicos do laboratório
  = “technicians of the laboratory” / “technicians from the laboratory”

Grammatically:

• técnicos (technicians)
• de o laboratório → do laboratório (from the laboratory)

You almost always contract de + o to do in normal speech and writing.

Why is there no article before técnicos (why not os técnicos do laboratório)?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

• por técnicos do laboratório
  = by (some / the) technicians from the lab, more generic / indefinite

• por os técnicos do laboratório
  = by the technicians from the lab, emphasizing a specific group, maybe the known team

So:

• The sentence as given (por técnicos do laboratório) focuses on the type of people who did the repair (technicians from that lab) without strongly specifying exactly which ones.
• Adding os makes the group more clearly defined and specific. Both are correct Portuguese.

Could we say Ontem, os técnicos do laboratório repararam o telescópio instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct and is the active voice version:

• Ontem, os técnicos do laboratório repararam o telescópio.
  → Yesterday, the technicians from the laboratory repaired the telescope.

Difference:

• Passive: Ontem, o telescópio foi reparado por técnicos do laboratório.

  • Focus on the telescope and the result (it ended up repaired).

• Active: Ontem, os técnicos do laboratório repararam o telescópio.

  • Focus on the technicians and their action.

Both are natural. Choice depends on what you want to emphasise: the object (passive) or the doers (active).

Why is the verb in the pretérito perfeito (foi reparado) and not some other past tense?

Foi reparado uses the pretérito perfeito (simple past), which expresses a completed action in the past, seen as a whole.

This matches the idea that:

• The repair happened and finished yesterday.

Other tenses would change the meaning:

• era reparado (imperfeito): “was being repaired / used to be repaired” → an ongoing or habitual past action.
• tinha sido reparado (plus‑quam‑perfect): “had been repaired” → past action completed before another past reference point.
• tem sido reparado (present perfect): “has been being repaired” / “has been repaired repeatedly” → ongoing or repeated up to now.

For a one-time, finished repair yesterday, foi reparado is the natural choice.

Is reparar the only verb I can use, or could I say consertar?

In European Portuguese, both reparar and consertar can be used for fixing / repairing things, but:

• reparar is very common in more formal or technical contexts (machines, equipment, etc.).
• consertar is also correct but may sound a bit more colloquial in some contexts.

Your sentence with consertar in passive would be:

• Ontem, o telescópio foi consertado por técnicos do laboratório.

This is grammatically fine. The nuance is subtle; both verbs work for “repairing a telescope”.

How should I pronounce telescópio and laboratório in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (using English-like hints):

• telescópio → teh-lesh-KAW-pyu

  • te: like “teh”
  • les: like “lesh” (with the Portuguese soft s, similar to “sh”)
  • có: stressed syllable, like “kaw” (open “o”)
  • pio: “pyu” (close “io” together)

• laboratório → la-bu-ru-TÁ-ryu

  • la: “la” as in “lava”
  • bo: here often more like “bu”
  • ra: very light, with a tapped or guttural r
  • tó: main stress, “TAW” (open “ó”)
  • rio: “ryu” (the final “io” collapses a bit)

In European Portuguese, unstressed vowels (especially final -o, -e) often sound more closed and weaker than in Brazilian Portuguese.