Breakdown of É difícil comer só um bombonzinho depois do pudinzinho.
ser
to be
comer
to eat
um
one
difícil
difficult
depois de
after
só
only
o pudim
the flan
o bombom
the bonbon
Questions & Answers about É difícil comer só um bombonzinho depois do pudinzinho.
Why are they spelled bombonzinho and pudinzinho with an n instead of an m?
The original words are bombom and pudim. In Portuguese, the letter m is only written at the very end of a word or before a b or p. When we add the suffix -zinho, the nasal sound is no longer at the end of the word, and the following letter is z. To follow the spelling rule, the m must change to an n.
Does the pronunciation of the nasal vowel change when the m becomes an n?
No, the nasal sound remains exactly the same. The -on in bombonzinho sounds just like the -om in bombom, and the -in in pudinzinho sounds like the -im in pudim. The spelling change is just a rule of written Portuguese.
Why is it depois do and not just depois o?
The word depois requires the preposition de when it is followed by a noun, forming the phrase depois de (after). Because we are saying after the little flan, we combine de with the masculine word for the, o, which merges into do.
Could I use apenas instead of só in this sentence?
Yes, apenas and só both mean only or just in this context and are completely interchangeable. You could easily say É difícil comer apenas um bombonzinho.
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