Breakdown of Misturo a tinta até que o tom combine com a cortina.
com
with
misturar
to mix
a cortina
the curtain
até que
until
Questions & Answers about Misturo a tinta até que o tom combine com a cortina.
Why is it combine instead of combina?
Combine is the present subjunctive form of the verb combinar. You must use the subjunctive after até que (until) when you are talking about an action that hasn't happened yet. Because the paint matching the curtain is the anticipated goal of the mixing, the subjunctive is required here.
Could I use the infinitive here and say até o tom combinar?
Yes! You can use either até que followed by the subjunctive (combine) or simply até followed by the personal infinitive (combinar). Both are commonly used in everyday European Portuguese for this kind of sentence.
Why is there a com after combine? In English, we just say 'matches the curtain'.
In Portuguese, when combinar means 'to match' visually (like colors, clothes, or furniture), it requires the preposition com (with). You are literally saying that the shade 'matches with' the curtain.
Doesn't tinta mean 'ink'?
Tinta can mean both 'ink' (like for a pen or printer) and 'paint' (for walls or art). Context is the only way to tell them apart. Here, mixing a color to match a curtain strongly points to paint.