Breakdown of Gosto destes pêssegos, mas prefiro os do sul.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
mas
but
este
this (este, esta, estes, estas)
preferir
to prefer
gostar de
to like
o sul
the south
o pêssego
the peach
Questions & Answers about Gosto destes pêssegos, mas prefiro os do sul.
Why is os used here instead of aqueles or esses for 'the ones'?
In Portuguese, when you want to say 'the ones from' or 'the one that', you typically use the definite articles (o, a, os, as) as demonstrative pronouns before de or que. Here, os stands in for os pêssegos to mean 'the ones', so os do sul literally translates as 'those of the south'.
Could I say prefiro os pêssegos do sul instead of just os do sul?
Why do we use the contraction destes in the first half, but do in the second half?
The verb gostar requires the preposition de, which merges with the demonstrative estes to form destes (literally, I like of these peaches). In the second half, the verb preferir does not need a preposition for its direct object. The do here is simply de + o, indicating origin (de o sul = from the south).
Doesn't the verb preferir usually require a preposition?
It only requires a preposition when you are explicitly stating the two things you are choosing between in the same clause, using a (for example, prefiro estes a aqueles, meaning 'I prefer these to those'). Since this sentence uses mas to separate two thoughts, preferir simply takes the direct object os do sul.
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