Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Sentámo-nos na sala de espera.

Sentámo-nos na sala de espera.

We sat down in the waiting room.

Breakdown of Sentámo-nos na sala de espera.

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Questions & Answers about Sentámo-nos na sala de espera.

Why is the verb spelled sentámo instead of sentámos before the hyphen?

Because we are attaching the pronoun -nos to the end of the verb. When a verb form ends in an "s" (like the "we" form sentámos) and you attach -nos, you must drop the final "s" of the verb to make it flow better. So, sentámos + nos becomes sentámo-nos.

Why is there an accent mark on the "a" in sentámo-nos?

In Portugal, the past tense "we" form of "-ar" verbs gets an acute accent (sentámos) to tell it apart from the present tense (sentamos), which is pronounced with a more closed "a" sound. Even though we dropped the final "s" to add the pronoun, we keep that accent mark to show it happened in the past: "we sat".

Do I really need the -nos here, or could I just say Sentámos na sala...?

You need it! In Portuguese, the verb for "to sit down" is reflexive: sentar-se (literally "to sit oneself"). If you just say sentámos, a Portuguese speaker will expect to hear what or who you seated, such as a child. To say you took a seat yourself, you must use the reflexive pronoun.

Why is "waiting room" translated using de espera instead of a verb form like "esperando"?