Breakdown of A nossa família fugiu do enxame, salvo eu.
eu
I
do
of the / from the (do, da, dos, das)
nosso
our (m/f/pl: nosso, nossa, nossos, nossas)
a família
the family
fugir
to flee
o enxame
the swarm
salvo
except / save for
Questions & Answers about A nossa família fugiu do enxame, salvo eu.
Why does the sentence end with salvo eu instead of salvo mim?
Normally, prepositions are followed by object pronouns like mim or ti (for example, para mim). However, prepositions of exception like salvo, exceto, and tirando are special. They require subject pronouns (eu, tu). You can think of it as a shortened clause: '...except that I did not run away.'
Since a family is made up of multiple people, why is the verb fugiu in the singular?
In Portuguese, collective nouns like família, grupo, or equipa always take singular verbs because the word itself is grammatically singular. While British English often treats collective nouns as plural, Portuguese stays strictly singular.
Why is the preposition de used here (do = de + o)?
The verb fugir means 'to flee' or 'to escape'. When you mention what you are running away from, it requires the preposition de. Since enxame (swarm) is a masculine noun, de merges with o to form do.
Can salvo change its ending to match a plural or feminine noun?
Not in this sentence. When salvo means 'except' or 'save for', it functions as an invariable word and never changes its ending. It only changes to salva or salvos when used as an adjective or a past participle meaning 'saved'.
Learn A nossa família fugiu do enxame, salvo eu and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free