O jantar termina à meia-noite.

Questions & Answers about O jantar termina à meia-noite.

Why is there an accent on the "a" in à meia-noite?
When answering a question with a que horas (at what time), you use the preposition a (at). Because meia-noite is a feminine noun, it uses the feminine word for "the", which is also a. These two combine into à (at the).
How would I ask the question that this sentence answers?
Because this sentence gives a specific clock time, you would use a que horas (at what time). The question is A que horas termina o jantar? (At what time does dinner finish?). If you wanted a general "when", you would ask Quando termina o jantar?
I learned that jantar means "to have dinner". Why is it used as a noun here?
Jantar is both a verb (to have dinner) and a masculine noun (the dinner). Here, the word o (the) before it shows us it is being used as a noun.
Does meia-noite literally mean "half night"?
Exactly! It combines meia (half) and noite (night). Because noite is a feminine word, we use the feminine form meia instead of the masculine meio. Midday works the exact same way with a masculine noun: meio-dia.

Learn O jantar termina à meia-noite and more in Portuguese

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free