Breakdown of Os alunos voltam à biblioteca.
o aluno
the student (m)
à
at the (fem. sg.) / to the (fem. sg.)
voltar
to return
a biblioteca
the library
Questions & Answers about Os alunos voltam à biblioteca.
Why is there a backwards accent on the word à?
That accent (called a grave accent) shows that a contraction happened. The verb voltam (return) connects to a destination using the preposition a (to). The word biblioteca (library) is feminine, so it takes the article a (the). Instead of writing a a, Portuguese combines them into à (to the).
Why does voltam use the preposition a here?
In Portuguese, verbs of motion like voltar (to return) and ir (to go) usually use the preposition a to indicate the short-term destination you are moving toward.
Wait, biblioteca means library? What about the word livraria?
This is a tricky false friend for English speakers! A biblioteca is a library where you borrow books. A livraria is a bookstore where you buy books.