Breakdown of O médico abre o caderno no comboio.
o médico
the doctor (m)
o caderno
the notebook
em
in / on / at
abrir
to open
o comboio
the train
Questions & Answers about O médico abre o caderno no comboio.
Why does abre end in an "-e" if it is an "-ir" verb?
Abre comes from the regular "-ir" verb abrir (to open). For regular "-ir" verbs in the present tense, the "he/she/it" (third-person singular) ending is actually -e. So, ele abre means "he opens". The only present tense ending for "-ir" verbs that actually uses an "i" is the "we" form: nós abrimos.
Where does the word no come from in no comboio?
No is a mandatory mash-up (contraction) of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the masculine word for "the", o. Because comboio is masculine, you cannot say em o comboio; you must combine them into no comboio.
I have heard the word "trem" used for train before. Is comboio different?
Comboio is the standard word for "train" in Portugal, while trem is used in Brazil. Because this is European Portuguese, you will always hear and use comboio!
Why does the Portuguese sentence say o caderno (the notebook) instead of "his notebook"?
In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article (o or a, meaning "the") instead of possessive words like "his" or "her" when the owner is obvious from the context. Saying abre o caderno naturally implies the doctor is opening his own notebook.
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