Breakdown of Não começo a pintar até que tu cubras o móvel com o pano.
tu
you
não
not / no
com
with
começar
to begin
pintar
to paint
o móvel
the piece of furniture
até que
until
cobrir
to cover
o pano
the cloth
Questions & Answers about Não começo a pintar até que tu cubras o móvel com o pano.
Why is cubras in the subjunctive instead of the normal present tense?
The phrase até que (until) sets a time limit for an action. When you use até que to talk about something that hasn't happened yet (like you covering the furniture), Portuguese grammar requires you to use the present subjunctive.
How do we get the form cubras from the verb cobrir?
To form the present subjunctive, you usually take the stem from the eu (I) form of the regular present tense. For cobrir (to cover), "I cover" is eu cubro. You drop the -o and add the subjunctive ending for tu, which gives you cubras.
Why is there an a in começo a pintar? Can I just say começo pintar?
You need the a. A common rule to remember is that the verb começar (to start) always requires the preposition a before an infinitive verb. You can never connect them directly.
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