Visitámos uma aldeia cujas ruas ficam perto do túnel.

Because this is the 1st person plural of the preterite in European Portuguese: nós visitámos = we visited.

The accent helps distinguish it from visitamos, which can be read as the present tense: we visit.

So:

• visitámos = we visited
• visitamos = we visit

This distinction is especially useful in Portuguese from Portugal.

Portuguese often omits the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb ending.

So:

• Visitámos uma aldeia... already means We visited a village...

The ending -ámos shows that the subject is we.

This is very common in Portuguese. You could say Nós visitámos uma aldeia..., but nós is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis.

Cujas means whose.

In this sentence:

• uma aldeia cujas ruas... = a village whose streets...

It links aldeia and ruas and shows possession:

• the streets belong to / are associated with the village

So cujas is a possessive relative word, similar to English whose.

Because cujas expresses possession, while que usually does not.

Compare:

• a village whose streets are near the tunnel
  → uma aldeia cujas ruas ficam perto do túnel

If you used que, the possessive relationship would be missing.

So cujas is needed because the sentence means:

• the village has streets
• those streets are near the tunnel

In other words, ruas belongs with aldeia, and cujas shows that relationship.

Because cujo changes to agree with the noun that comes after it, not with the owner.

Here the noun after it is ruas, which is:

• feminine
• plural

So you need cujas.

The full set is:

• cujo = masculine singular
• cuja = feminine singular
• cujos = masculine plural
• cujas = feminine plural

Examples:

• o homem cujo carro... = the man whose car...
• a mulher cuja casa... = the woman whose house...
• a aldeia cujas ruas... = the village whose streets...

It agrees with the thing possessed — the noun that comes right after it.

In:

• uma aldeia cujas ruas...

the possessor is aldeia
the thing possessed is ruas

Since ruas is feminine plural, the form is cujas.

This is a point that often confuses English speakers, because English whose does not change form.

No, that is not natural Portuguese.

To express whose, Portuguese normally uses cujo/cuja/cujos/cujas in this kind of formal, written sentence.

So the correct version is:

• uma aldeia cujas ruas ficam perto do túnel

In everyday speech, some speakers may avoid cujo and rephrase the sentence, for example:

• Visitámos uma aldeia e as ruas dela ficam perto do túnel.

But in standard written Portuguese, cujas is the elegant and correct choice here.

Because the subject of that part of the sentence is ruas (streets), which is plural.

So:

• a rua fica = the street is / lies
• as ruas ficam = the streets are / lie

That is why the verb is ficam, the 3rd person plural form of ficar.

In Portuguese, ficar is often used to say where something is located.

So:

• As ruas ficam perto do túnel = The streets are / are situated near the tunnel

Using ser here would be wrong:

• são perto is not idiomatic Portuguese

For location, Portuguese commonly uses:

• ficar = to be located
• sometimes estar, depending on context

But in this sentence, ficam perto is very natural.

It means the streets are near the tunnel or are located near the tunnel.

Breakdown:

• ficam = are located / lie
• perto = near
• do túnel = of the tunnel / to the tunnel, but in natural English simply near the tunnel

So the whole part means:

• the streets are near the tunnel

Because de + o contracts in Portuguese:

• de + o = do

So:

• perto de o túnel → perto do túnel

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese.

Some useful examples:

• de + a = da
• de + os = dos
• de + as = das

So:

• perto da casa = near the house
• perto dos jardins = near the gardens

Because perto normally takes the preposition de.

So:

• perto de algo = near something

Examples:

• perto da escola = near the school
• perto do rio = near the river
• perto de Lisboa = near Lisbon

That is why the sentence says:

• perto do túnel

not just perto o túnel.

Not exactly.

• aldeia = village
• vila = town (often smaller than a city, but not as small or rural as a village)
• cidade = city

So aldeia suggests a small village, often more rural.

Because Portuguese usually places the relative phrase directly after the noun it describes.

Here:

• uma aldeia = the main noun
• cujas ruas ficam perto do túnel = extra information describing that village

So the structure is:

• We visited a village + whose streets are near the tunnel

This is very similar to formal English word order.

Yes, it sounds fairly neutral to formal, especially because of cujas.

The word cujo/cuja/cujos/cujas is completely correct and important to know, but it is often felt to be a bit more formal or written than everyday alternatives.

So this sentence is very natural in writing and educated speech, but in casual conversation people may sometimes choose a different structure.

A more everyday rewording could be:

• Visitámos uma aldeia e as ruas dela ficam perto do túnel.

or sometimes:

• Visitámos uma aldeia; as ruas ficam perto do túnel.

But the original sentence is better if you want a single, well-formed sentence with clear grammar.

So:

• Visitámos uma aldeia cujas ruas ficam perto do túnel.

is the more polished version.

Túnel has the stress on the first syllable:

• TÚ-nel

The accent mark on ú shows the stressed syllable.

So it is not pronounced like tu-NEL.

It can be broken down like this:

• Visitámos = we visited
• uma aldeia = a village
• cujas ruas = whose streets
• ficam perto do túnel = are near the tunnel

So the pattern is:

• [main clause] + [noun] + [relative possessive phrase]

More simply:

• We visited a village whose streets are near the tunnel.

Yes. In English, whose can refer not only to people but also to things, especially in more formal or careful English.

So:

• a village whose streets...

is perfectly normal English.

Portuguese does the same with cujo/cuja/cujos/cujas, and in fact it is very common for things:

• a casa cujas janelas...
• o livro cujo autor...
• a aldeia cujas ruas...

So there is nothing unusual about using cujas for a place like aldeia.

No. After cujo/cuja/cujos/cujas, you do not use an article.

So you say:

• cujas ruas

not:

• cujas as ruas

This is an important rule.

Correct:

• a aldeia cujas ruas ficam perto do túnel

Incorrect:

• a aldeia cujas as ruas ficam perto do túnel

It is the present tense of ficar.

So literally, the sentence mixes:

• Visitámos = past
• ficam = present

That is normal, because the visit happened in the past, but the streets’ location is presented as a current fact.

English often does the same:

• We visited a village whose streets are near the tunnel.

Not:

• whose streets were near the tunnel, unless you specifically want to place that location relationship in the past.

Yes, estão perto do túnel is possible, but it feels slightly different.

• ficam perto do túnel emphasizes location
• estão perto do túnel can also mean are near the tunnel, but ficar is especially common for describing where places or buildings are situated

So in this sentence, ficam is a very natural choice.