Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): No fim do jantar, deixámos uma boa gorjeta porque o serviço foi excelente. - At the end of dinner, we left a good tip because the service was excellent.

No fim do jantar, deixámos uma boa gorjeta porque o serviço foi excelente.

At the end of dinner, we left a good tip because the service was excellent.

Breakdown of No fim do jantar, deixámos uma boa gorjeta porque o serviço foi excelente.

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Questions & Answers about No fim do jantar, deixámos uma boa gorjeta porque o serviço foi excelente.

What does “No fim do jantar” literally mean, and why is “no” used here?

Literally:

no = em + o → “in/on/at the”
fim = “end”
do jantar = de + o jantar → “of the dinner”

So “No fim do jantar” literally means “At the end of the dinner.”

Portuguese often uses em (contracted as no / na) for time expressions like this:

no fim do dia – at the end of the day
no início do ano – at the beginning of the year

So “No fim do jantar” is the natural, idiomatic way to say “At the end of dinner” in European Portuguese.

What is the difference between “no fim do jantar”, “no final do jantar”, and “depois do jantar”?

All three are understandable, but there are nuances:

no fim do jantar – at the end of the dinner, focusing on the last moments of the meal (plates still on the table, bill arriving, etc.).
no final do jantar – very similar, slightly more formal or emphatic; you’ll hear both fim and final.
depois do jantar – after dinner, which can mean any time after the meal is over, not necessarily at the exact end.

In your sentence, “No fim do jantar, deixámos uma boa gorjeta”, the idea is that they left the tip right when the meal finished, so no fim fits best.

What does “do jantar” mean, and why is there a contraction?

“do” is a contraction of:

de + o = do → “of the”

So:

do jantar = “of the dinner”

Portuguese almost always contracts prepositions with definite articles:

de + a = da → da casa (of the house)
em + o = no → no carro (in the car)
a + os = aos → aos amigos (to the friends)

Here, fim do jantar = “end of the dinner.”
You normally cannot say “fim de o jantar”; it must be fim do jantar.

Is “jantar” a noun or a verb here? How can I tell?

In this sentence, “jantar” is a noun meaning “dinner.”

Clues:

It follows a definite article: o jantar → “the dinner.”
It’s part of a noun phrase: fim do jantar (“end of the dinner”).

As a verb, jantar means “to have dinner”:

Vamos jantar às oito. – We’re going to have dinner at eight.
Jantámos cedo. – We had dinner early.

So:

o jantar – the dinner (noun)
jantar – to have dinner (verb, infinitive)

Why is it “deixámos” with an accent instead of “deixamos”?

In European Portuguese, the accent in deixámos marks both:

Tense/person
- deixámos (with accent) = simple past (preterite), “we left/left behind”
- deixamos (no accent) = present, “we leave / we are leaving”
Stress
- deixámos is stressed on the á: dei-XÁ-mos
- deixamos is stressed on the ei: DEI-xamos

So in your sentence:

deixámos uma boa gorjeta = “we left a good tip” (finished action in the past).

Without the accent, deixamos would mean “we leave/we are leaving,” which doesn’t fit the context.

Is this spelling (“deixámos”) the same in Brazilian Portuguese?

No:

European Portuguese (Portugal):
- deixámos = past (we left)
- deixamos = present (we leave)
Brazilian Portuguese:
- Usually deixamos for both present and past; the accent is not normally used.

Brazilians distinguish them mostly by context and intonation, not spelling.
In Portugal, the accent in deixámos helps clearly mark the past tense in writing and pronunciation.

Why do we say “deixar uma gorjeta”? Could we also use another verb like “dar”?

Yes, several verbs are possible, with slightly different emphasis:

deixar uma gorjeta – literally “to leave a tip”
- Very common when talking about paying the bill and leaving money on the table or in the payment system.
dar uma gorjeta – literally “to give a tip”
- Also common; focuses more on the act of giving.
pagar gorjeta – “to pay a tip”
- Used more when talking about whether tipping is obligatory or included.

In your sentence, “deixámos uma boa gorjeta” is very natural in European Portuguese. You could also say:

No fim do jantar, demos uma boa gorjeta... – same idea, with dar instead of deixar.

What does “gorjeta” mean exactly, and what gender is it?

“gorjeta” means “tip” (the extra money you give for service in a restaurant, bar, taxi, etc.).

It is feminine: a gorjeta / uma gorjeta
Plural: as gorjetas

Common collocations:

deixar uma gorjeta – to leave a tip
dar uma gorjeta – to give a tip
pagar gorjeta – to pay a tip
sem gorjeta – without tip

In your sentence, uma boa gorjeta = “a good (i.e., generous) tip.”

Why is it “uma boa gorjeta” and not “uma gorjeta boa”? Does the word order matter?

In Portuguese, most adjectives usually come after the noun, but some common adjectives often go before the noun, especially when they express:

a subjective judgment (good, bad, beautiful, horrible, etc.)
size or quantity (big, small, many)

“bom/boa” (good) very often comes before the noun:

uma boa gorjeta – a good/generous tip (most natural)
um bom serviço – good service
um bom vinho – a good wine

You can say “uma gorjeta boa”, but it tends to sound more neutral or factual (“a tip that was good”), whereas “uma boa gorjeta” feels like “a nice, generous tip” in a more idiomatic, evaluative way.

So the sentence uses the most natural, common word order: uma boa gorjeta.

What’s the difference between “porque”, “porquê”, “por que”, and “por quê”?

They all relate to “why/because”, but are used differently:

porque (one word, no accent)
- Means “because” (and sometimes “why” in indirect questions).
- Used in your sentence:
  “...porque o serviço foi excelente.” – “...because the service was excellent.”
por que (two words, no accent)
- Usually used in direct questions = “why”:
  - Por que chegaste tarde? – Why did you arrive late?
porquê (one word, with accent)
- A noun meaning “reason” / “the why”:
  - Não percebo o porquê. – I don’t understand the reason/why.
por quê (two words, with accent)
- Mostly in Brazilian Portuguese, used at the end of a question:
  - Fostes embora por quê? – You went away why?

In your sentence, we need “because”, so porque (no accent, one word) is correct.

Why is it “o serviço foi excelente” and not “serviço foi excelente”?

Portuguese uses definite articles (o, a, os, as) much more often than English, especially with nouns that are specific in context.

Here, o serviço means “the service” (the service we received at that restaurant):

o serviço – the service (specific)
serviço (without article) – more general or abstract, like “service” as a concept

In sentences like this, you normally include the article:

O jantar foi ótimo. – The dinner was great.
O vinho estava muito bom. – The wine was very good.
O serviço foi excelente. – The service was excellent.

Saying “serviço foi excelente” without o sounds unnatural in standard Portuguese.

Why is the adjective “excelente” placed after “foi” and not before “serviço”, as in English?

Portuguese normally uses the pattern:

[article] + [noun] + [verb “ser/estar”] + [adjective]

So:

o serviço foi excelente
o jantar foi longo – the dinner was long
a comida estava deliciosa – the food was delicious

Putting the adjective before the noun, as in English (“the excellent service”), is also possible in Portuguese, but it changes the structure:

O serviço foi excelente. – The service was excellent.
O excelente serviço. – The excellent service. (used when “excellent service” is part of a larger noun phrase: “Gostámos do excelente serviço.” – We liked the excellent service.)

So the sentence is following the standard “ser + adjective” structure, which is the most natural way to say “the service was excellent.”

Why is the verb in the past simple (deixámos / foi) instead of a compound past like “temos deixado” or “tem sido”?

European Portuguese uses the simple past (pretérito perfeito simples) for completed past actions, similar to English simple past:

deixámos – we left (a tip)
foi – was

So:

Deixámos uma boa gorjeta porque o serviço foi excelente.
→ One finished event in the past: we had dinner, we left a tip, end of story.

Forms like “temos deixado” (have been leaving) or “tem sido” (has been) describe repeated or ongoing actions up to now, not a single event:

Temos deixado boas gorjetas ultimamente. – We have been leaving good tips lately.
O serviço tem sido excelente. – The service has been excellent (for some time).

In your sentence, the tip and the service are one completed occasion, so deixámos and foi are the correct, natural choices.