Breakdown of Ambas as fêmeas têm olhos azuis.
ter
to have
azul
blue
ambos
both
o olho
the eye
a fêmea
the female
Questions & Answers about Ambas as fêmeas têm olhos azuis.
Why is it Ambas as instead of just Ambas?
In Portuguese, when ambos or ambas (both) is followed by a noun, it must be paired with the definite article (os or as). You are literally saying "both the females." If you just said Ambas fêmeas, it would sound grammatically incomplete to a native speaker.
Is fêmeas the normal word to use for human women?
No. Just like in English, fêmeas (females) is primarily used for animals. Using it to describe human women sounds very biological or clinical. If you meant human women, you would say Ambas as mulheres or Ambas as raparigas.
Why does têm have a circumflex accent (^) here?
The circumflex accent visually distinguishes the plural form of the verb ter from the singular form. The third-person singular "has" is tem, while the third-person plural "have" is têm. Since Ambas as fêmeas is a plural subject (they), we need the accented form.
How does the plural spelling work for azuis?
Adjectives and nouns ending in -l usually form their plural by dropping the -l and adding -is. Therefore, the singular azul becomes azuis. It must be plural here to agree with the plural noun olhos (eyes).
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