Breakdown of Há um ano que lemos romances latino-americanos.
um
a / an / some (all forms)
o ano
the year
ler
to read
que
that (conjunction)
o romance
the novel
haver
ago / for (a period of time)
latino-americano
Latin American
Questions & Answers about Há um ano que lemos romances latino-americanos.
Why is only the second part of latino-americanos pluralized?
This is the standard rule for compound adjectives in Portuguese. Only the final word in the compound changes to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies (romances). The first part (latino) stays in its default masculine singular form, while the second part becomes americanos.
Why do we use the present tense lemos when the English translation uses the present perfect continuous ("have been reading")?
When an action started in the past and is still happening right now, Portuguese typically uses the present tense. The structure há + [amount of time] + que + [present tense verb] is the most natural way to express that you have been doing something for a certain amount of time.
Could we use the Portuguese present perfect here, like temos lido?
Yes! You could say Temos lido romances latino-americanos há um ano. The Portuguese present perfect (ter + past participle) specifically describes an action that has been happening repeatedly or continuously up until the present, which fits this context perfectly.
Does romances mean these books are specifically romance novels?
No, romance is a classic false friend. In Portuguese, um romance simply means "a novel" (a long work of fiction), no matter what the genre is. A science fiction novel or a thriller is still um romance.
Learn Há um ano que lemos romances latino-americanos and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free