Breakdown of O enigma é estranho, mas vou decifrá-lo.
ser
to be
mas
but
ir
to go
o
him/it (m)
estranho
strange
decifrar
to decipher
o enigma
the puzzle
Questions & Answers about O enigma é estranho, mas vou decifrá-lo.
Why is the pronoun attached as -lo and why does decifrá get an accent?
When you attach a direct object pronoun like o (it) to an infinitive verb ending in -r, the -r is dropped and the pronoun becomes -lo. Dropping the -r from decifrar leaves us with decifra, but we must add an acute accent (decifrá) to maintain the original pronunciation where the spoken stress falls on that final syllable.
Could the pronoun go somewhere else since vou decifrar is a verbal complex with two verbs?
Yes! In European Portuguese, when you have an auxiliary verb (vou) plus an infinitive (decifrar), you can either attach the pronoun to the infinitive (vou decifrá-lo) or to the auxiliary verb (vou-o decifrar). Both are correct, though attaching it to the infinitive is extremely common. You cannot put it before vou in this sentence because there is no 'magnet' word (like a negative word or relative pronoun) to pull it to the front.
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