Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Nós não comemos a carne.

Nós não comemos a carne.

We do not eat the meat.

Breakdown of Nós não comemos a carne.

Questions & Answers about Nós não comemos a carne.

How do we get the word comemos from the dictionary verb comer?

Comer is a regular verb meaning "to eat". To say "we eat" (nós), you take off the -er at the end of the verb and add the ending -emos. This gives you comemos.

Why doesn't the Portuguese sentence have a word for "do" like in "do not eat"?

Portuguese doesn't use helper words like "do" or "does" for negative sentences. You simply put não directly before the verb. So, não comemos translates perfectly to "do not eat" or "are not eating".

Is it mandatory to include the word nós at the beginning?

No, it is completely optional. Because the verb ending -emos in comemos is only ever used for "we", the listener already knows exactly who you are talking about. It is very common to just say Não comemos a carne.

Why is there an a before carne? Can I just say não comemos carne?

You can, but it changes the meaning slightly. Including the a means you are talking about a specific piece of meat ("We do not eat the meat"). If you drop the a and say Não comemos carne, it means "We do not eat meat" in general, which is exactly what a vegetarian would say.