Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Costumo ver baratas na casa de banho às duas da manhã. - I usually see cockroaches in the bathroom at two in the morning.

Costumo ver baratas na casa de banho às duas da manhã.

I usually see cockroaches in the bathroom at two in the morning.

Breakdown of Costumo ver baratas na casa de banho às duas da manhã.

of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)

Questions & Answers about Costumo ver baratas na casa de banho às duas da manhã.

English uses the adverb usually, but here Portuguese uses a verb (costumo). How does this work?

In Portuguese, it is very common to express usually or to be in the habit of using the verb costumar followed by an infinitive. Here, costumo (I usually) is combined with the infinitive ver (to see) to mean I usually see.

Doesn't baratas also mean cheap? How can I tell the difference?

You are right! As an adjective, baratas means cheap (referring to feminine plural nouns). But here, it is used as a noun meaning cockroaches. You can tell the difference from the context since verbs like ver (to see) are followed by nouns.

I have also heard banheiro for bathroom. Is casa de banho the normal way to say it in Portugal?

Yes, casa de banho is the standard term for bathroom or toilet in European Portuguese. Banheiro is the word used in Brazilian Portuguese, but in Portugal, a banheiro is actually a lifeguard!

Why do we use the feminine plural às before duas?

When telling time in Portuguese, the number is always feminine because it refers to the hidden word horas (hours). The expression combines the preposition a (at) with the feminine plural article as to create the contraction às.