Breakdown of Enquanto esperarmos pelos nossos amigos, beberemos uma cerveja.
o amigo
the friend (m)
um
a / an / some (all forms)
beber
to drink
nosso
our
por
through / by / for / because of
esperar
to wait
enquanto
while
a cerveja
the beer
Questions & Answers about Enquanto esperarmos pelos nossos amigos, beberemos uma cerveja.
Why is esperarmos in the future subjunctive here instead of the present tense?
We use the future subjunctive after time words like enquanto (while) when referring to an action that is still in the future or hasn't finished yet. Even though in English we say "While we wait" (using the present tense), in Portuguese, because the waiting will happen in the future, it requires the future subjunctive.
Is esperarmos just the infinitive with an ending added?
Yes, exactly! For regular verbs like esperar, the future subjunctive looks exactly like the personal infinitive. You form it by taking the infinitive (esperar) and adding the ending for nós (we), which is -mos, giving you esperarmos.
Why do we use pelos before nossos amigos?
In Portuguese, to say "wait for" someone or something, you use the verb esperar followed by the preposition por. In this sentence, por combines with the plural masculine article os to form the contraction pelos.
Could I just say Enquanto esperamos in the present tense?
You can, but it changes the meaning. If you use the present indicative (Enquanto esperamos), it means "While we are waiting right now." By using the future subjunctive (Enquanto esperarmos), you are talking about a future situation: "When we are waiting later, we will drink a beer."
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