Breakdown of Por um lado, o chá verde cheira a pinho.
a
to / at (direction)
o chá
the tea
o
him/it (m)
verde
green
cheirar
to smell
por um lado
on one hand
o pinho
the pine
Questions & Answers about Por um lado, o chá verde cheira a pinho.
Why do we use cheira a here instead of cheira como?
In Portuguese, sensory verbs like cheirar (to smell) and saber (to taste) require the preposition a when you want to say they smell or taste like something. Saying cheira como pinho sounds unnatural; the standard structure is always cheirar a followed by the noun.
Is por um lado exactly equivalent to the English phrase "on the one hand"?
Yes! Just like in English, it is used to introduce the first of two contrasting points. You will usually see it followed later in the thought or conversation by por outro lado (on the other hand).
Why use pinho here instead of pinheiro for "pine"?
Pinheiro refers to the actual living pine tree. Pinho refers to pine wood, or in this case, the essence, scent, or flavor of pine. Since the tea smells like the abstract scent rather than a physical tree, pinho is the natural choice.
Why is there no article before pinho, when there is one before chá verde?
We use the definite article o before chá verde because it is the specific subject of the sentence. However, after cheirar a or saber a, we usually drop the article when referring to a general flavor or scent category. So we say cheira a pinho rather than cheira ao pinho.
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