Breakdown of Ontem é que eu furei a madeira com o berbequim.
eu
I
com
with
ontem
yesterday
a madeira
the wood
Questions & Answers about Ontem é que eu furei a madeira com o berbequim.
Why do we use the present tense é que when the sentence is about something that happened yesterday (Ontem)?
The emphatic particle é que can be invariable in Portuguese. This means it often stays in the present tense even when the main verb of the sentence (furei) is in the past. It simply acts as a fixed spotlight for the word right before it.
What exactly is é que emphasizing in this specific sentence?
By placing é que immediately after Ontem, the sentence strongly highlights when the action took place. It changes a simple 'Yesterday I drilled the wood' into 'It was yesterday that I drilled the wood', ruling out any other day.
What verb does furei come from?
It comes from the regular verb furar (to drill, to pierce, or to puncture). furei is the 'I' form in the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito).