Question 1

Why is brilhou in the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

The phrase de modo que takes the indicative when it describes a real consequence or result. Because the gold actually shone as a factual result of the polishing, we use the indicative brilhou. If the sentence were instead expressing the goldsmith's intention or purpose (He polished it so that it might shine), we would use the subjunctive form brilhasse.

Question 2

Could I use de forma que here instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes, de forma que and de maneira que are completely interchangeable with de modo que in this context. All of them express a factual consequence when followed by the indicative mood, and an intended purpose when followed by the subjunctive.

Question 3

Does the 's' at the end of ourives mean it is a plural word?

Accepted Answer

Not in this case. We know it is singular here because it is paired with the singular article O. The word ourives (goldsmith) is an invariable noun, meaning the exact same spelling is used for both singular and plural. If there were multiple goldsmiths, the phrase would simply be Os ourives.

Question 4

Is the verb polir (to polish) regular in the past tense?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in the simple past tense, it follows the normal pattern for verbs ending in -ir, giving us poliu. However, this is a great time to recall that polir is heavily irregular in the present tense, where its first vowel changes from 'o' to 'u' in most forms, resulting in forms like eu pulo (I polish) and ele pule (he polishes).

O ourives poliu o metal, de modo que o ouro brilhou.

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