Breakdown of A noiva chorou, apesar de termos preparado a lua de mel.
ter
to have
preparar
to prepare
chorar
to cry
apesar de
despite
a noiva
the bride
a lua de mel
the honeymoon
Questions & Answers about A noiva chorou, apesar de termos preparado a lua de mel.
Why do we say termos preparado ('us having prepared') instead of just prepararmos ('us preparing')?
The simple personal infinitive (prepararmos) would imply the preparing was happening at the same time she cried. Because the preparation was already finished before she cried, we need the Perfect Personal Infinitive. We form this with the personal infinitive of ter (termos, for 'us') plus the past participle (preparado).
Why do we need the personal form termos here rather than the regular infinitive ter?
The phrase apesar de (despite) is followed by an infinitive. We must use the personal infinitive because the people doing the preparing ('we') are different from the main subject of the sentence (a noiva, the bride). If you just said ter preparado, it would imply the bride prepared the honeymoon herself.
Should preparado change to preparada to match the feminine word lua?
No, it stays as preparado. When you build a compound tense using the helper verb ter, the past participle never changes. It always stays in its default masculine singular form ending in '-o', regardless of the subject or the object.
Is lua de mel the standard way to say honeymoon?
Yes! It translates literally as 'moon of honey', which is the exact same concept we use in English. A honeymoon is always called a lua de mel in Portuguese.
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