Breakdown of O fotógrafo não percebeu aquilo antes de termos começado o copo-d'água.
aquilo
that over there
não
not / no
ter
to have
começar
to begin
antes de
before
perceber
to understand, to get it
o copo-d'água
the wedding reception
o fotógrafo
the photographer
Questions & Answers about O fotógrafo não percebeu aquilo antes de termos começado o copo-d'água.
Why do we use termos começado instead of a normal past tense here?
The phrase antes de (before) is a preposition, and in Portuguese, prepositions are usually followed by an infinitive. Because the subject of this second action is 'we' (different from 'the photographer'), we need the Personal Infinitive. To show that this action was completely finished before the first action, we use the Perfect Personal Infinitive: the personal infinitive of ter for 'we' (termos) plus the past participle (começado).
Does copo-d'água literally mean 'glass of water'? How does that mean 'wedding reception'?
Yes, literally it means 'glass of water'. In Portugal, o copo-d'água is the standard, traditional term for a wedding reception or banquet. Long ago, the post-wedding celebration was just a simple offering of a glass of water and some light refreshments. The massive feasts of today kept the humble name!
Why use aquilo for 'that' instead of isso?
Both mean 'that', but isso refers to something close to the person you are talking to, or something just mentioned. Aquilo refers to something distant in space or time from both speakers. Since this sentence is talking about a past, completed event, aquilo naturally distances the situation ('that thing way back then'). Also, because it stands alone and doesn't point to a specific masculine or feminine noun, we use the neutral aquilo instead of aquele or aquela.
Could I just say antes de começarmos (before we started)?
Yes, using the simple Personal Infinitive (começarmos) would also be grammatically correct and very common. However, the Perfect Personal Infinitive (termos começado) explicitly emphasizes the timeline: the starting of the reception was completely finished before the photographer realized it. It acts just like the English 'before we had started'.
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