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Depois de ter dobrado o papel, meti-o no envelope e escrevi outra vez a morada.

Depois de ter dobrado o papel, meti-o no envelope e escrevi outra vez a morada.
After folding the paper, I put it in the envelope and wrote the address again.

Breakdown of Depois de ter dobrado o papel, meti-o no envelope e escrevi outra vez a morada.

e
and
em
in
depois de
after
escrever
to write
o
it
outra vez
again
o papel
the paper
meter
to put
o envelope
the envelope
dobrar
to fold
a morada
the address
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Questions & Answers about Depois de ter dobrado o papel, meti-o no envelope e escrevi outra vez a morada.

Why does it say depois de ter dobrado o papel instead of just depois de dobrar o papel?

Depois de ter dobrado o papel uses the perfect infinitive: ter + past participle.

It highlights that the folding was already completed before the next actions happened:

  • first, I folded the paper
  • then, I put it in the envelope
  • then, I wrote the address again

In many real-life cases, depois de dobrar o papel is also possible and sounds natural. The version with ter dobrado is just a bit more explicit about the action being completed first.

What exactly is ter dobrado grammatically?

It is the perfect infinitive of dobrar.

Structure:

  • ter = infinitive of to have
  • dobrado = past participle of dobrar = folded

So literally it is something like to have folded.

In this sentence, it comes after depois de:

  • depois de ter dobrado o papel = after having folded the paper
Why is it dobrado and not some other form like dobrei?

Because after ter, Portuguese uses the past participle, not a finite past-tense verb.

Compare:

  • dobrei o papel = I folded the paper
  • ter dobrado o papel = to have folded the paper

So dobrei is a full verb form for I folded, while dobrado is the participle used in compound structures like ter dobrado.

Does dobrado agree with o papel?

Not here. After ter, the past participle normally does not agree with the object.

So you say:

  • ter dobrado o papel
  • ter dobrado a carta
  • ter dobrado os papéis

The participle stays the same: dobrado.

This is different from cases where a participle is acting more like an adjective.

Why is it meti-o with the pronoun after the verb?

Because in European Portuguese, in a normal affirmative main clause, object pronouns often come after the verb. This is called enclisis.

So:

  • meti-o = I put it

Here o refers to o papel.

The hyphen is required in standard spelling when the pronoun is attached after the verb.

This is very typical of Portugal Portuguese. An English speaker may expect something more like o meti, but that is not the normal choice here.

Why is it meti-o and not meti-lo?

Because -lo is used after verb forms ending in -r, -s, or -z.

Examples:

  • meter + o → metê-lo
  • fiz + o → fi-lo

But meti ends in a vowel, not -r, -s, or -z, so the pronoun stays as o:

  • meti-o

So the sentence is correct as written:

  • meti-o no envelope
What tense are meti and escrevi?

They are both in the pretérito perfeito simples, the normal tense for completed actions in the past.

  • meti = I put
  • escrevi = I wrote

In this sentence, they describe a sequence of finished actions:

  1. folded the paper
  2. put it in the envelope
  3. wrote the address again
Why is there no eu in the sentence?

Because Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here:

  • meti clearly means I put
  • escrevi clearly means I wrote

So eu is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

This is very common in Portuguese:

  • Escrevi a carta = I wrote the letter
  • Eu escrevi a carta = I wrote the letter, with extra emphasis on I
What does meti mean here? Is meter a normal verb to use?

Yes. In Portugal, meter is a very common everyday verb meaning to put, to place, to stick, depending on context.

So:

  • meti-o no envelope = I put it in the envelope

In European Portuguese, meter is extremely natural in speech. You could also find verbs like:

  • pôr
  • colocar

But meter is very common and idiomatic in Portugal.

Why is it no envelope instead of em o envelope?

Because em + o contracts to no.

So:

  • em o envelope → no envelope

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese:

  • em + a → na
  • em + os → nos
  • em + as → nas

So meti-o no envelope literally means I put it in the envelope.

Why are there definite articles in o papel, no envelope, and a morada?

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English.

Here they refer to specific things already understood in the situation:

  • o papel = the paper
  • o envelope = the envelope
  • a morada = the address

In English, sometimes we might say paper or address without an article depending on style, but Portuguese often prefers the article when the thing is specific or contextually known.

What does morada mean exactly? Why not endereço?

In Portugal, morada is the normal word for address, especially a postal address.

So:

  • escrevi outra vez a morada = I wrote the address again

A learner who knows Brazilian Portuguese may expect endereço, which is very common in Brazil. In Portugal, morada is the usual everyday word in this context.

Why does outra vez come before a morada?

Because adverbs like outra vez can often move around in Portuguese, and this position is perfectly natural.

Here:

  • escrevi outra vez a morada

This means I wrote the address again.

You could also hear:

  • escrevi a morada outra vez

Both are possible. The choice is mostly about rhythm, emphasis, and style, not a big change in meaning.

Could outra vez be replaced by de novo?

Yes. Outra vez and de novo can both mean again.

So you could also say:

  • escrevi de novo a morada

However, outra vez is very common and natural in everyday speech.

Does escrevi outra vez a morada mean I wrote the same address again, or that I wrote a different address?

Normally it means I wrote the address again — in other words, I repeated the action of writing it.

By itself, it does not suggest a different address. It most naturally means the same address had to be written again, perhaps because the first attempt was unclear, wrong, or in the wrong place.

Is the whole sentence a sequence of actions in order?

Yes. The sentence presents the actions in a clear time order:

  1. Depois de ter dobrado o papel = after having folded the paper
  2. meti-o no envelope = I put it in the envelope
  3. e escrevi outra vez a morada = and I wrote the address again

This kind of chaining of completed actions is very common in Portuguese narrative style.