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Um oficial do exército falou com os jornalistas.

Um oficial do exército falou com os jornalistas.
An army officer spoke with the journalists.
From Lesson 437:Crime e autoridade (o tiro, a bala)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Um oficial do exército falou com os jornalistas.

falar
to speak
o jornalista
the journalist
o exército
the army
o oficial
the officer

Questions & Answers about Um oficial do exército falou com os jornalistas.

Wait, doesn't oficial usually translate to "official"?
It is the adjective for "official" (like um documento oficial), but as a noun, oficial specifically means a military or police "officer". If you want to talk about a government "official", you would typically use funcionário or representante.
Could I say falou aos jornalistas instead of falou com os jornalistas?
Yes, but it changes the nuance. Falou com implies a two-way interaction or an interview (spoke with them). Falou aos jornalistas sounds more unidirectional, like a formal press briefing where he delivered a statement without necessarily taking questions (spoke to them).
Why does jornalistas take the masculine article os even though it ends in "-a"?
Words ending in the suffix -ista (like jornalista, artista, turista) have the same form for both masculine and feminine. The gender is shown entirely by the article. Using os here tells us the group is either all male or a mix of men and women.
How exactly should I pronounce the "x" in exército?
In the word exército, the "x" is pronounced like an English "z". When "x" appears between an "e" and another vowel in a word of Latin origin, it almost always takes this "z" sound, just like in exame or exemplo.

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