Breakdown of Esta erva cheira a alecrim, mas sabe a limão.
mas
but
a
to / at (direction)
este
this (+ noun)
o limão
the lemon
a erva
the grass, the herb
cheirar
to smell
saber a
to taste like
o alecrim
the rosemary
Questions & Answers about Esta erva cheira a alecrim, mas sabe a limão.
Why do we use the preposition a here instead of a word for "like", such as como?
In Portuguese, verbs that express what something smells or tastes like naturally pair with the preposition a. You must use cheirar a (to smell like/of) and saber a (to taste like/of). If you were to say cheira como alecrim, it would sound grammatically strange, almost as if you were saying the herb is actively sniffing things the way rosemary does, rather than giving off the scent of rosemary!
I learned that saber means "to know". Is this the exact same verb?
Yes, it is the exact same verb! While saber most commonly means "to know" (a fact or how to do something), it takes on a completely different meaning when followed by the preposition a. Whenever you see saber a followed by a food, flavor, or substance, it translates to "to taste like".
Why isn't there a definite article before the nouns, like cheira ao alecrim or sabe ao limão?
We omit the definite article here because we are referring to the general scent or flavor of rosemary and lemon, not a specific sprig of rosemary or one specific lemon. If you used the article (ao limão), it would imply the herb tastes like that specific lemon you were just talking about or looking at.
Does erva mean "herb" or "grass"?
It can mean both! Erva is a broad word that can translate to "grass", "weed", or "herb". In culinary contexts, herbs are often specifically called ervas aromáticas, but simply using erva is perfectly natural in this sentence because the verbs (cheira, sabe) and the comparisons (alecrim, limão) make it completely obvious that we are talking about a plant used for its flavor and scent.
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