Breakdown of Eu dava o livro à fada se ela viesse comigo.
eu
I
o livro
the book
ela
she
a
to / at (direction)
comigo
with me
dar
to give
vir
to come
se
if
a fada
the fairy
Questions & Answers about Eu dava o livro à fada se ela viesse comigo.
Why does the translation say "I would give" when dava is the Imperfect tense, not the Conditional?
In everyday spoken Portuguese, it is very common to use the Imperfect Indicative (dava) instead of the Conditional tense (daria) to express what you "would" do. Both are grammatically correct here, but dava sounds much more natural in casual conversation.
Why do we use the subjunctive verb viesse instead of a regular past tense after se?
The word se (if) sets up a hypothetical situation: she hasn't actually come with me. When you talk about imaginary or unlikely conditions in the past or present, Portuguese requires the Imperfect Subjunctive (Pretérito Imperfeito do Conjuntivo).
Viesse is from the irregular verb vir (to come). How do we figure out this stem?
To find the stem for the Imperfect Subjunctive, look at the simple past (Pretérito Perfeito). Take the "they" form of the verb (vieram), drop the -ram ending to get vie-, and then add the subjunctive endings. For ela, we add -sse, creating viesse.
Why is there an accent pointing backwards on à fada?
This accent shows that two identical letters have merged. It combines the preposition a (to) and the feminine definite article a (the). Since you are giving the book "to the" fairy, they blend together into à.
I remember that com means "with". Why don't we say com mim for "with me"?
The preposition com merges with certain pronouns to create unique single words. Instead of com mim, you must always use the special contraction comigo (with me). Similarly, "with you" becomes contigo.
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