Breakdown of Nós mostrar-lhe-íamos a infraestrutura do município.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
nós
we
a
to / at (direction)
o
him/it (m)
lhe
to him / to her / to you (formal)
mostrar
to show
a infraestrutura
the infrastructure
o município
the municipality
Questions & Answers about Nós mostrar-lhe-íamos a infraestrutura do município.
Why is the pronoun lhe in the middle of the verb mostrar-lhe-íamos?
In European Portuguese, when a verb is in the future or conditional tense, pronouns cannot just attach to the end of the verb. Instead, they split the verb in half—a rule called mesoclisis. Since 'would show' is the conditional tense, lhe is placed in the middle.
How exactly do I build a split verb like mostrar-lhe-íamos?
You take the full infinitive of the verb (mostrar), add a hyphen and your pronoun (-lhe-), and then attach the conditional ending for nós (íamos). Notice that the conditional ending -íamos keeps its written accent mark!
Does the subject pronoun Nós pull the pronoun to the front?
No, subject pronouns like Nós, Ele, or Eu do not pull the pronoun to the front of the verb. If we had added a negative word like não (e.g., Nós não lhe mostraríamos...), then the negative word would pull the pronoun to the front, and the verb would no longer be split!
The English translation says 'We would show him'. Could lhe mean something else here?
Yes! The indirect object pronoun lhe can mean 'to him', 'to her', or 'to you' (formal singular). Without prior context, mostrar-lhe-íamos could perfectly translate to 'We would show her' or 'We would show you'.
Why is it do município instead of just de município?
do is the mandatory contraction of the preposition de (of) and the masculine singular definite article o (the). Because we are talking about a specific municipality ('the municipality's infrastructure'), we must include the article.
Learn Nós mostrar-lhe-íamos a infraestrutura do município and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free