Breakdown of A caravana cruzou a vastidão do deserto durante a noite.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
a
to / at (direction)
a noite
the night
o
him/it (m)
durante
during
o deserto
the desert
a caravana
the caravan
cruzar
to cross (intersect, fold)
a vastidão
the vastness
Questions & Answers about A caravana cruzou a vastidão do deserto durante a noite.
How would we change this sentence to say the caravan crossed nothing but the vastness of the desert, using this lesson's grammar?
The word vastidão ends in -idão. Is this a common pattern for making nouns?
Yes, the suffix -idão is often attached to adjectives to create feminine abstract nouns expressing a state or quality, similar to '-ness' in English. Here, vasto (vast) becomes vastidão (vastness). Other common B2-level examples include solidão (loneliness, from só) and gratidão (gratitude, from grato).
Since crossing the desert took an entire duration of time (durante a noite), why is the verb in the Pretérito Perfeito (cruzou) instead of the Imperfeito (cruzava)?
We use the Pretérito Perfeito (cruzou) because the crossing is viewed as a single, completed event that was successfully finished. Even though it took time, the action has a clear boundary. If you used the Imperfeito (cruzava), it would sound like an incomplete background action, such as 'While the caravan was crossing the desert, something else happened.'
Could I say à noite or de noite instead of durante a noite?
Yes, you can, but the nuance shifts slightly. Durante a noite emphasizes the duration of the crossing, implying it took a large portion of the night. À noite or de noite simply tell us the time of day the event happened, without placing any special focus on the span of time.
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