Breakdown of Há uma década que este carpinteiro não sai da oficina.
não
not / no
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
um
a / an / some (all forms)
este
this (este, esta, estes, estas)
sair
to go out
que
that (conjunction)
há
ago / for (a period up to now)
a oficina
the workshop
o carpinteiro
the carpenter
a década
the decade
Questions & Answers about Há uma década que este carpinteiro não sai da oficina.
Why is the verb sai in the present tense when the English translation says hasn't left?
In Portuguese, when an action started in the past and continues into the present, we use the present tense. The structure Há + time expression + que + present tense translates to the English present perfect tense. Here, não sai combined with Há uma década que means he hasn't left for a decade and still hasn't left today.
Can I put the time expression at the end of the sentence instead?
Why do we use da before oficina?
The verb sair (to leave or to go out) requires the preposition de. Because we are talking about a specific workshop, we also need the feminine definite article a (the). These combine to form the contraction da.
Is oficina the Portuguese word for office?
No, this is a common false friend! The word oficina means a workshop or a repair shop, which makes perfect sense for a carpenter. If you want to talk about an office, you should use the word escritório.
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