Breakdown of Mesmo os alunos têm talentos ocultos.
o aluno
the student (m)
ter
to have
o
him/it (m)
o talento
the talent
Questions & Answers about Mesmo os alunos têm talentos ocultos.
How does placing mesmo at the very beginning of this sentence affect its meaning?
As a focus adverb, mesmo emphasizes the word or phrase immediately following it. By placing it directly before os alunos, it specifically targets the subject, meaning "even the students" (perhaps as opposed to the teachers). If we moved it after the verb, like in Os alunos têm mesmo talentos ocultos, the scope shifts to emphasize the verb, changing the meaning to "The students really have hidden talents."
I learned that mesmo means "same". How can I tell it means "even" here?
When mesmo means "same", it acts as an adjective that agrees with the noun and is usually placed between the article and the noun (for example, os mesmos alunos means "the same students"). In this sentence, mesmo is an invariable adverb placed outside the noun phrase, which gives it the meaning of "even".
Could I use até instead of mesmo in this sentence?
Why does têm have a circumflex accent in this sentence?