Breakdown of No entanto, nós soubemos a verdade sobre a praxe.
nós
we
a
to / at (direction)
a verdade
the truth
saber
to know
Questions & Answers about No entanto, nós soubemos a verdade sobre a praxe.
Why does soubemos mean "found out" here instead of "knew"?
This is a perfect example of a state-of-mind verb changing its meaning based on the past tense you choose. Saber means "to know". However, because it is used here in the Pretérito Perfeito (which describes a single, completed event), it shifts to mean the exact moment that knowledge was acquired: "found out" or "learned". If you wanted to describe an ongoing state in the past ("we knew"), you would use the Pretérito Imperfeito: sabíamos.
Could I say descobrimos instead of soubemos?
Yes! Descobrimos (from descobrir, meaning "to discover") would also work perfectly here to mean "we found out" or "we discovered". Using soubemos is simply a very natural, everyday way to express learning a piece of information.
What exactly is a praxe?
Praxe (often called praxe académica) is a highly specific cultural word in Portugal. It refers to the traditional initiation rituals for university freshmen. It is similar to university hazing or fraternity pledging, and it is a massive, highly visible part of Portuguese academic culture, famous for the older students wearing traditional black suits and capes.
Is it necessary to include nós before the verb?