Breakdown of Ela vai mudar de emprego? Eu já o sabia.
já
already
saber
to know
mudar
to change
o emprego
the job, the employment
Questions & Answers about Ela vai mudar de emprego? Eu já o sabia.
Why is there a de in mudar de emprego? Doesn't it just mean "change job"?
In Portuguese, the verb mudar followed by the preposition de is used when you are switching one thing for another of the same kind. You will see this in common expressions like mudar de casa (to move house), mudar de ideias (to change one's mind), and mudar de roupa (to change clothes). Without de, mudar usually means to physically move or alter something.
What does the o refer to in Eu já o sabia?
The pronoun o acts like "it" in English. It refers back to the entire previous sentence or idea: the fact that she is changing jobs. While you can often just say Eu já sabia (I already knew), adding the o makes it sound a bit more complete and is very common in written or slightly more formal Portuguese.
Why is the pronoun placed before the verb (já o sabia) instead of after (já sabia-o)?
Could I use the Preterite tense (soube) here instead of the Imperfect (sabia)?
Using soube would change the meaning. The Imperfect tense sabia describes an ongoing state in the past (being already aware of it). If you used the Preterite soube, it would usually mean "I found out" or "I learned about it" at a specific moment, which changes the focus from an ongoing state of knowing to the sudden action of discovering.
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