Breakdown of O tatuador começou a tatuar o contorno.
a
to / at (direction)
começar
to begin
o tatuador
the tattoo artist
tatuar
to tattoo
o contorno
the outline
Questions & Answers about O tatuador começou a tatuar o contorno.
Why do we need the preposition a between começou and tatuar?
In Portuguese, the verb começar (to begin or start) requires the preposition a when it is followed by an action in the infinitive. To say 'started to tattoo', you must say começou a tatuar, not just começou tatuar.
Is tatuador the standard word for 'tattoo artist' in Portugal?
Why use the simple past começou instead of the imperfect começava?
We use the simple past (Pretérito Perfeito) because starting this specific tattoo was a single, completed event in time. If you used the imperfect (começava), it would imply a habitual background action, such as 'he used to start by tattooing the outline' as a general routine.
Does contorno only apply to drawn outlines like in a tattoo?
No, contorno is a very versatile word for any kind of outline, contour, or perimeter. You will see it used for makeup (contouring), the shape of a landscape, or even in traffic to describe a ring road or bypass that goes around the edge of a town.
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