Breakdown of Ele disse que já tentou aparafusar, mas não conseguiu.
não
not / no
ele
he
mas
but
dizer
to say
Questions & Answers about Ele disse que já tentou aparafusar, mas não conseguiu.
Where is the word for "it" in "screw it in"?
This is the complemento direto nulo (inanimate null object) in action. In European Portuguese, when you refer to an inanimate object that is already clear from context (like a screw), you usually drop the object pronoun entirely. Instead of saying aparafusá-lo, it is perfectly natural to just leave it as aparafusar.
Does the same "null object" rule apply to não conseguiu (he couldn't)?
Exactly! In English, we usually add "it" or "do it" (he couldn't do it). In Portuguese, you don't need a pronoun like o or a demonstrative like isso here. The verb conseguir stands alone because the target action (aparafusar) was just established in the sentence.
Why use the pretérito perfeito (tentou, conseguiu) instead of the imperfeito (tentava, conseguia) here?
Is aparafusar related to the Portuguese word for a screw?