Question 1

Why do we use tinha dado instead of just deu here?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of reported speech. Because the reporting verb confirmou is in the past, the action being reported steps back further into the past. The original direct quote was likely in the Pretérito Perfeito Simples (uma fonte deu-me...). When reported in the past, deu backshifts to the Mais-Que-Perfeito Composto (tinha dado), meaning 'had given'.

Question 2

Why is the pronoun lhe placed before tinha dado instead of being attached to the verb?

Accepted Answer

The word que (that) acts as a 'magnet' word in Portuguese. Whenever a subordinate clause starts with que, it pulls object pronouns like lhe to the front of the verb group. Therefore, it has to be que uma fonte lhe tinha dado rather than attaching it after the verb with a hyphen.

Question 3

Why does jornalista use the masculine article O when the noun ends in 'a'?

Accepted Answer

Words describing professions that end in -ista are typically invariable, meaning their spelling doesn't change between masculine and feminine. You simply use o for a male and a for a female. Here, O jornalista tells us this is a male journalist.

Question 4

In the direct quote, the journalist probably said 'a source gave me the news'. How did 'me' turn into lhe?

Accepted Answer

When converting direct speech into reported speech, pronouns must shift to match the new perspective. The original 'to me' (me) shifts to 'to him' (lhe) because we are now talking about the journalist in the third person.

O jornalista confirmou que uma fonte lhe tinha dado a notícia exclusiva.

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