Cavámos e adubámos antes de colher.

They are in the pretérito perfeito of the indicative, first person plural.

That means:

• cavámos = we dug
• adubámos = we fertilized / manured

This tense is used for actions seen as completed in the past. In this sentence, both actions were finished before the action of colher.

In European Portuguese, the acute accent in forms like cavámos and adubámos shows the stress and helps distinguish them from the present-tense forms:

• cavámos = we dug

• cavamos = we dig

• adubámos = we fertilized
• adubamos = we fertilize

So for a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, that accent is very useful because it tells you this is the past, not the present.

Because Portuguese often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

Here, -ámos tells you the subject is we. So:

• Cavámos e adubámos already means We dug and fertilized

You could say Nós cavámos e adubámos, but that would usually add emphasis, contrast, or extra clarity. In normal speech and writing, leaving out nós is very common.

After antes, Portuguese normally uses de + infinitive when another verb follows.

So:

• antes de colher = before harvesting / before picking

You do not normally say:

• antes colher
• antes de colhemos

In this structure, Portuguese wants the infinitive, which is colher.

Yes, it could.

Portuguese has something called the personal infinitive, which can show who is doing the action. So both of these are possible:

• antes de colher
• antes de colhermos

The difference is roughly this:

• antes de colher = more neutral, shorter, the subject is understood from context
• antes de colhermos = more explicit, clearly says before we harvest(ed)

In a sentence like this, where the subject is already obvious, the plain infinitive colher sounds perfectly natural.

Yes. Both are regular -ar verbs:

• cavar = to dig
• adubar = to fertilize / manure

Their past first-person plural forms follow the regular pattern:

• cavar → cavámos
• adubar → adubámos

So this sentence is also a good model for how many regular -ar verbs work in the past in European Portuguese.

Because the grammar tells you so.

In antes de colher, the word after de is functioning as an infinitive verb. So here colher must mean the verb to harvest / to pick / to gather.

The noun colher means spoon, but that would not fit this structure.

So context and grammar make the meaning clear.

In an agricultural context, colher usually means to harvest or to gather the crop.

Depending on the context, it can also mean to pick, especially with things like:

• colher maçãs = to pick apples
• colher flores = to pick flowers

In this sentence, because of cavámos and adubámos, it clearly sounds agricultural, so harvest is a very natural interpretation.

Yes.

The structure is:

• Cavámos e adubámos = two coordinated actions
• antes de colher = a time phrase that applies to the whole coordinated action

So the meaning is that we dug and fertilized before harvesting.

In other words, both actions happened before the harvesting.

lh is a single Portuguese sound, not an English l followed by h.

A useful approximation for English speakers is that it is somewhat like the lli sound in million, although not exactly the same.

So in colher:

• do not pronounce it like col-her
• treat lh as one sound

This is an important spelling pattern in Portuguese, also found in words like:

• filho
• mulher
• trabalhar

Often, yes, especially in spelling.

In Brazil, you will commonly see:

• Cavamos e adubamos antes de colher.

In Portugal, the accented forms are standard for these past-tense verbs:

• Cavámos e adubámos antes de colher.

So the main difference here is the written marking of the past tense in cavámos / adubámos. The grammar and overall meaning stay the same.