Breakdown of Os documentos que me entregou a conservatória são antigos.
ser
to be
a
to / at (direction)
o documento
the document
me
me
o
him/it (m)
entregar
to hand in
que
who / which / that (relative)
antigo
ancient
a conservatória
the registry office
Questions & Answers about Os documentos que me entregou a conservatória são antigos.
Why does a conservatória come after the verb entregou instead of before it?
This is an example of subject-verb inversion in a relative clause, which is very common in Portuguese. While English strictly requires the order "that the registry office handed me", Portuguese comfortably allows que me entregou a conservatória (literally "that to me handed the registry office"). This inversion often happens to make the sentence flow better, especially when the subject is a full noun rather than a short pronoun.
Since the word order is mixed up, how do we know a conservatória is the subject doing the action?
When facing an inverted sentence, you have to rely on verb conjugation and context. The verb entregou is in the third-person singular, which matches the singular noun a conservatória. If os documentos were the subject of that specific clause, the verb would have to be the plural entregaram. Plus, logically, a registry office hands over documents, not the other way around!
Why is the pronoun placed before the verb as que me entregou rather than after it as que entregou-me?
The relative pronoun que acts as a "magnet" word. In Portuguese, certain words force object pronouns like me to move before the verb. Because que is one of these strong magnets, it must be que me entregou. The fact that the subject (a conservatória) is inverted and pushed to the end of the clause doesn't change this pronoun rule.
What exactly is a conservatória?
A conservatória is a registry office in Portugal. It is a vital piece of vocabulary if you live there, as you will deal with them for official paperwork. Common examples include the Conservatória do Registo Civil (for births, marriages, and citizenship) or the Conservatória do Registo Predial (for real estate and property deeds).
Learn Os documentos que me entregou a conservatória são antigos and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free