Question 1

How do you form the word come from the regular verb comer (to eat)?

Accepted Answer

Since comer is a regular -er verb, you drop the -er to get the stem (com-). Then, because o aluno is a third-person singular subject (like "he"), you add the matching ending -e. This gives us come.

Question 2

Why does doente come after the noun, and would it change for a female student?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, descriptive words (adjectives) usually come right after the noun they describe, which is why it is aluno doente instead of the other way around. Because doente ends in an -e, it is neutral and stays exactly the same for both masculine (o aluno doente) and feminine (a aluna doente) nouns.

Question 3

The English translation says "does not eat". Where is the word for "does"?

Accepted Answer

Portuguese does not use helper verbs like "do" or "does" to make a negative sentence. You simply place não directly before the verb. So, não come literally means "not eats", which translates perfectly to "does not eat".

Question 4

Could não come also mean "is not eating"?

Accepted Answer

Yes! The Portuguese present tense can often translate to both the simple present ("does not eat") and the present continuous ("is not eating") in English. You can usually tell which one makes the most sense from the context.

O aluno doente não come o bolo.

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