Breakdown of Nós apreciamos muito a vossa generosidade.
nós
we
muito
much / very
vosso
your (plural, of vocês; forms: vosso, vossa, vossos, vossas)
apreciar
to appreciate
a generosidade
the generosity
Questions & Answers about Nós apreciamos muito a vossa generosidade.
How do we know "apreciamos" is in the present tense and not the past tense here?
In European Portuguese, the present and past (preterite) forms for the pronoun "nós" are distinguished by an acute accent in the past tense for "-ar" verbs. For example, nós apreciámos means "we appreciated". Since there is no accent here, apreciamos is in the present tense, meaning "we appreciate".
Why is there an "a" before "vossa"?
In European Portuguese, possessive words like vossa (your) are almost always preceded by a definite article. Here, the feminine singular article a is used because it must match the gender and number of the noun it describes, which is generosidade.
Does "vossa" mean "your" (plural) or "your" (formal)?
Vossa is the feminine form of vosso, which corresponds to the plural "you" (referring to a group of people). Even though the subject pronoun vós is mostly regional nowadays, vosso and vossa are still the standard, everyday way to say "your" when addressing multiple people. If you were speaking formally to a group, you would use a sua generosidade instead.
Why does "muito" come right after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?
Is there a trick to remembering the gender of the word "generosidade"?
Yes! As a very reliable rule of thumb, Portuguese nouns ending in -dade are feminine. These words almost always correspond to English words ending in "-ty" (like cidade for city, or universidade for university).
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