Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Os pertences, procuro-os nos perdidos e achados. - The belongings, I look for them in the lost and found.

Os pertences, procuro-os nos perdidos e achados.

The belongings, I look for them in the lost and found.

Breakdown of Os pertences, procuro-os nos perdidos e achados.

in / on / at

procurar

to look for / to seek to, to try to

them (m)

o pertence

the belonging

Questions & Answers about Os pertences, procuro-os nos perdidos e achados.

Why do we add the pronoun -os to the verb when we already stated Os pertences?

This sentence uses left-dislocation to emphasize the object by pulling Os pertences to the front. When you move the object to the beginning of the sentence like this, Portuguese requires a resumptive clitic. This means you must include the direct object pronoun -os on the verb to refer back to the topic you just established.

Does the fronted topic Os pertences act as a trigger to put the pronoun before the verb?

No, it does not. In European Portuguese, the default pronoun position is after the verb (enclisis). Because the topic Os pertences is separated by a comma, it sits outside the main clause and does not act as a magnet (proclisis trigger). Therefore, the pronoun attaches to the end as procuro-os.

Why does the phrase perdidos e achados use plural forms?

In Portuguese, the equivalent of a lost and found department translates literally to lost things and found things. It uses the plural masculine past participles of the verbs perder (to lose) and achar (to find) acting as plural nouns.

Why isn't there a preposition meaning for after procuro?

The Portuguese verb procurar inherently means to look for or to search for. It takes a direct object without needing an extra preposition. This is also why we are able to use the direct object pronoun -os in this sentence instead of an indirect pronoun.