Breakdown of Não temos um forno a gás, mas temos um candeeiro a petróleo.
não
not / no
mas
but
ter
to have
um
a / an / some (all forms)
o forno
the oven
o candeeiro
the lamp
o gás
the gas
o petróleo
the petroleum
Questions & Answers about Não temos um forno a gás, mas temos um candeeiro a petróleo.
Why use a instead of de for forno a gás and candeeiro a petróleo?
In Portuguese, the preposition a is used to indicate the fuel, power source, or mechanism that makes a machine work. If you used de, it would sound like the oven is physically made out of gas!
Why is there no article after the preposition? Why isn't it ao gás?
When indicating a device's power source or mechanism with a, we do not use definite articles because we are referring to the substance as a general concept, not a specific batch of it. So it is always a gás, a vapor (steam), or a pilhas (batteries).
The translation says 'oil lamp', but doesn't petróleo mean petroleum or petrol?
Petróleo literally means petroleum or crude oil, but in the context of lamps and heaters, it refers specifically to kerosene or lamp oil. Note that the fuel you put in a standard car is gasolina (petrol/gasoline) or gasóleo (diesel), not petróleo.
Can I omit the second temos to make the sentence less repetitive?
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