Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O cão ainda rói o osso?

O cão ainda rói o osso?

Does the dog still gnaw the bone?

Breakdown of O cão ainda rói o osso?

o cão

the dog

ainda

still / yet / even (with comparatives)

Questions & Answers about O cão ainda rói o osso?

Why does ainda come before the verb rói?

In Portuguese, adverbs of time like ainda (still) generally go directly before the verb they modify. Its position is much more fixed than in English, where a word like still can sometimes move around the sentence.

What verb is rói, and why does it have an accent mark?

This is the third-person singular present tense of roer (to gnaw or to chew). It gets an accent mark to tell you to put the stress on the open o sound. Some present tense forms of this verb are a bit irregular, such as the I form: eu roio.

Could I say ainda está a roer instead of ainda rói?

Yes, absolutely! In European Portuguese, the continuous structure (estar a plus infinitive) is very common for actions happening right now. O cão ainda está a roer o osso? means the exact same thing and sounds completely natural.

If the dog had finished, how would I use já não to say he no longer gnaws the bone?

You would replace ainda with its opposite, já não (no longer or not anymore). The sentence becomes O cão já não rói o osso. Just like ainda, the phrase já não goes directly before the verb.