Breakdown of A lenha é o nosso único combustível desde que nos mudámos para a montanha.
ser
to be
nosso
our (m/f/pl: nosso, nossa, nossos, nossas)
para
to / for
a montanha
the mountain
mudar-se
to move
único
unique
desde que
ever since (temporal)
a lenha
the firewood
o combustível
the fuel
Questions & Answers about A lenha é o nosso único combustível desde que nos mudámos para a montanha.
Why is mudámos in the indicative past tense here, rather than the subjunctive?
The phrase desde que has two meanings. When it means 'since' or 'ever since' to talk about a fixed point in time, as it does in this sentence, it takes the indicative. If it meant 'provided that' or 'as long as' to set a condition, it would require the subjunctive.
Why is there an accent mark on mudámos?
The accent shows that the verb is in the past tense. In European Portuguese, the present tense mudamos (we move) has a closed 'a' sound and no accent, while the past tense mudámos (we moved) gets an acute accent to show an open 'a' sound.
Why is the pronoun nos placed before the verb mudámos instead of attached to the end?
To say 'we moved' (relocated), we use the reflexive verb mudar-se. Normally, the pronoun might attach to the end of the verb, but the word que acts as a magnet. It pulls the pronoun nos to sit immediately before the verb.
Why does the adjective único come before the noun combustível?
While most descriptive adjectives in Portuguese go after the noun, único (meaning 'only') is an exception that almost always comes before the noun it modifies.
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