Breakdown of Eu vi o décimo episódio da novela.
eu
I
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
ver
to see
décimo
tenth
o episódio
the episode
a novela
the soap opera
Questions & Answers about Eu vi o décimo episódio da novela.
How would I add "probably" to this sentence to say "I probably saw the tenth episode"? Do I need the subjunctive?
You keep the indicative mood! When using epistemic adverbs like provavelmente (probably) or possivelmente (possibly), Portuguese uses the indicative. You would just say, Eu provavelmente vi o décimo episódio da novela. This is a great contrast to adverbs of doubt like talvez (perhaps), which usually force the verb into the subjunctive mood.
Is novela a false friend here? Does it mean a written novel?
Yes, it is a classic false friend. In Portuguese, a novela (short for telenovela) refers exclusively to a television soap opera. If you want to talk about a novel (a fiction book), the word you need is romance. If you are talking about a standard TV series with seasons, you would use the word série.
Could I use the verb assistir instead of ver for watching an episode?
Yes, but you must remember that assistir in the sense of "to watch" requires the preposition a in European Portuguese. So, the sentence would become Eu assisti ao décimo episódio da novela. However, for casually watching TV or movies, ver is much more commonly used in everyday speech in Portugal.
Why is the ordinal number décimo and not décima?
Ordinal numbers act like adjectives in Portuguese and must agree in both gender and number with the noun they describe. Because episódio is a masculine singular noun, you must use the masculine singular décimo. If you were talking about the tenth season (a temporada, which is feminine), you would say a décima temporada.
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