Breakdown of Eles acabaram por perder o capital na capital.
eles
they (m)
em
in / on / at
perder
to lose
acabar por
to end up (doing)
o capital
the capital (money)
a capital
the capital city
Questions & Answers about Eles acabaram por perder o capital na capital.
Why does the word capital appear twice, but with different implied genders?
This sentence highlights a dual-gender noun where the meaning changes entirely based on the article. o capital (masculine) refers to money, funds, or financial assets. The second instance is feminine, hidden inside the contraction na (em + a). a capital refers to a capital city.
How does the phrase acabaram por perder work here?
The structure acabar por followed by an infinitive verb (in this case, perder) is used to express ending up doing something. It shows the final outcome of a situation, so acabaram por perder means they ended up losing.
Could either o capital or a capital be used to talk about a capital letter?
Why do we need the article in na capital instead of just saying em capital?
In Portuguese, specific locations like the capital city require a definite article. We combine the preposition em (in) with the feminine article a to form na.
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