Breakdown of Ambos os auditores ficaram a pensar no desfalque.
em
in / on / at
ficar
to stay
pensar
to think
ambos
both
o auditor
the auditor
o desfalque
the embezzlement (shortfall)
Questions & Answers about Ambos os auditores ficaram a pensar no desfalque.
Why use ficaram a pensar instead of just estavam a pensar?
The structure ficar a + infinitive is a verbal periphrasis that highlights an acquired state. While estavam a pensar simply means they were thinking at that moment, ficaram a pensar implies a resulting action: they ended up thinking or were left thinking about it because of some prior event or realization.
Why do we need the article os in ambos os auditores?
In Portuguese, when ambos modifies a noun, it must be followed by a definite article. So you must say ambos os auditores (literally both the auditors), even though English usually drops the article in this context.
Why does the sentence use no desfalque instead of sobre o desfalque for about the embezzlement?
The verb pensar is almost always followed by the preposition em to mean think about or think of. Here, em contracts with the article o to form no. While pensar sobre is grammatically possible, pensar em is the much more natural and standard choice in Portugal.
Since they were left thinking for a while, why is ficaram in the Pretérito Perfeito (simple past) rather than the Imperfeito?
The verb ficar here marks the exact moment they entered the state of thinking, which is a completed event in the past. The ongoing nature of the thinking itself is handled by the a pensar part of the phrase. If you used the Imperfeito (ficavam a pensar), it would change the meaning to a recurring habit, like they used to be left thinking.
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