Breakdown of Encontrei o cadeado e vou destrancá-lo.
e
and
ir
to go
encontrar
to find
o
him/it (m)
o cadeado
the padlock
destrancar
to unlock
Questions & Answers about Encontrei o cadeado e vou destrancá-lo.
Why is the pronoun attached to destrancar instead of vou?
In a verbal complex containing an auxiliary verb (vou) and an infinitive (destrancar), you have a choice. You can attach the object pronoun to the infinitive, as done here (vou destrancá-lo), or you can attach it to the auxiliary (vou-o destrancar). Both are completely natural in European Portuguese.
Why does destrancar change to destrancá, and why does the pronoun become -lo?
Whenever a verb ends in -r, -s, or -z and is followed by the direct object pronouns o, a, os, or as, the final consonant is dropped and an l is added to the pronoun. Because we dropped the -r from destrancar, we must add an acute accent (á) to keep the pronunciation stressed on that final syllable.
Does the word e (and) pull the pronoun to the front, making it e o vou destrancar?
No, the conjunction e is not a 'magnet' word. While words like não (not) or que (that) force the pronoun to jump in front of the verb phrase, e allows the pronoun to stay attached to the end of one of the verbs.
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