Breakdown of Eles costumavam cortar o glúten, além dos laticínios.
eles
they (m)
o
him/it (m)
costumar
to usually do
cortar
to cut
além de
besides
o glúten
the gluten
o laticínio
the dairy product
Questions & Answers about Eles costumavam cortar o glúten, além dos laticínios.
Why use costumavam cortar instead of just the Imperfect tense cortavam?
Both are correct and translate to 'used to cut out.' However, using the auxiliary verb costumar in the Imperfect explicitly highlights that this was a routine or habit. Using cortavam on its own can mean 'used to cut out,' but it can also mean 'were cutting out' (an ongoing past action), so costumavam removes any ambiguity.
Does the verb cortar naturally translate to 'cutting out' a food group?
Yes! Just like in English, cortar is naturally used for eliminating or severely reducing something from your diet. You might also see it paired with the preposition em to mean 'cutting down on' (for example, cortar nos laticínios).
Why does glúten need the definite article o?
In Portuguese, you generally need definite articles before abstract nouns and broad categories of substances when talking about them in a general sense. While English just says 'gluten,' Portuguese requires o glúten.
What is the breakdown of além dos?
It comes from the phrase além de (beyond / in addition to / besides) combined with the plural definite article os. Here, it points to os laticínios and translates smoothly to 'as well as the' or 'besides the'.
How could I rewrite this sentence to practice the lesson's target grammar, seja... seja (whether... or)?
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