Breakdown of Eles passaram a viver na autocaravana e não tinham nada que esconder.
e
and
não
not / no
ele
he
ter
to have
em
in / on / at
a
to / at (direction)
nada
nothing / anything
esconder
to hide
viver
to live
que
who / which / that (relative)
passar a
to start to (do) / to turn into (change into)
a autocaravana
the motorhome
Questions & Answers about Eles passaram a viver na autocaravana e não tinham nada que esconder.
Why do we use que in nada que esconder instead of para?
When the main clause has an indefinite pronoun like nada, algo, or tudo, we connect it to the infinitive verb with que. This forms an infinitival relative clause, essentially meaning "nothing that could be hidden." While you might hear nada para esconder in casual speech, nada que esconder is the grammatically standard way to build this specific structure.
What is the difference between passaram a viver and começaram a viver?
Both can translate to "started to live," but passar a followed by an infinitive strongly highlights a transition into a new, ongoing habit or phase. While começar a simply marks the beginning of an action, passar a viver implies "from that point onward, their new reality was living in the motorhome."
Does não tinham nada literally translate to "they didn't have nothing"?
Is autocaravana the only word for a camper or motorhome?
In Portugal, autocaravana specifically refers to a drivable motorhome or campervan. If you are talking about a camper trailer that gets towed behind a normal car, the word to use is caravana.
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