Breakdown of Eles comentaram que a coscuvilhice era uma mentira.
ser
to be
eles
they (m)
um
a / an / some (all forms)
que
that (conjunction)
a mentira
the lie
comentar
to comment
a coscuvilhice
the gossip
Questions & Answers about Eles comentaram que a coscuvilhice era uma mentira.
Why is the verb era used instead of the present tense é?
This is an example of reported speech (discurso indireto). The original direct quote was probably in the present tense: "A coscuvilhice é uma mentira" (The gossip is a lie). Because the reporting verb comentaram (they commented) is in the past, we have to "backshift" the present tense verb é into the imperfect past tense era.
Could we use the pretérito perfeito foi instead of era here?
If you used foi, it would change the meaning of the original quote. Backshifting to the imperfect (era) tells us the original statement was in the present tense ("The gossip IS a lie"). If you used foi, it would mean the original speakers were already talking about the past when they spoke ("The gossip WAS a lie").
Do we always need the word que in Portuguese reported speech? In English we can drop it and just say "They commented the gossip was a lie."
Yes, in Portuguese you must always include the conjunction que (that) to connect the reporting verb to the reported statement. Unlike in English, you cannot simply drop it.
The word coscuvilhice is a mouthful! Are there other common words for "gossip"?
Yes, coscuvilhice is very common in Portugal, but you might also hear fofoca (more common in Brazil but widely understood in Portugal) or boato (which leans slightly more toward "rumor"). If you want to talk about the action itself, the verb is coscuvilhar (to gossip).
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