Não vi sequer a minhoca.

not

Breakdown of Não vi sequer a minhoca.

• ver: to see
• o: the
• a minhoca: an earthworm

Questions & Answers about Não vi sequer a minhoca.

What does vi mean, and what verb does it come from?

Vi means I saw. It comes from the verb ver (to see).

This is the 1st person singular of the pretérito perfeito simples in European Portuguese:

• eu vi = I saw
• tu viste = you saw
• ele/ela viu = he/she saw

So Não vi... means I didn’t see...

Why is there no subject pronoun like eu?

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

So:

• Não vi sequer a minhoca.
• Eu não vi sequer a minhoca.

both mean the same thing: I didn’t even see the worm.

The version without eu is very natural and common.

What does não do in this sentence?

Não is the standard word for not in Portuguese. It goes before the verb:

• Não vi = I did not see

This is the normal way to make a sentence negative.

What does mean here?