Word
Aqui vendemos as sardinhas ao quilo.
Meaning
Here we sell the sardines by the kilo.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Aqui vendemos as sardinhas ao quilo.
aqui
here
ao
to the / at the (m.sg; f.sg à, m.pl aos, f.pl às)
a
to / at (direction)
o quilo
the kilo
Questions & Answers about Aqui vendemos as sardinhas ao quilo.
Why does this sentence use ao quilo instead of translating 'by' as por, like por quilo?
In European Portuguese, when expressing rates, prices, or measurements (like 'by the kilo', 'per hour', or 'a day'), it is standard to use the preposition a combined with the definite article. Since quilo is a masculine noun, the preposition a and the article o contract to become ao.
If I wanted to say 'by the dozen', would it still be ao?
No, it would change to match the gender of the noun. The word for dozen, dúzia, is feminine. So, the preposition a merges with the feminine article a to create à, making it à dúzia.
Can I use this same structure for talking about frequency, like 'twice a day'?
Exactly! The preposition a plus the definite article is the standard way to express frequency. For example, 'twice a day' is duas vezes ao dia (because dia is masculine), and 'once a week' is uma vez à semana (because semana is feminine).
Is it strictly necessary to include as before sardinhas?