Question 1

Why do we use pelo instead of just por?

Accepted Answer

pelo is a mandatory combination (a contraction) of the preposition por (through) and the masculine word for 'the', which is o. Since parque is masculine, we combine por + o into pelo to mean 'through the'.

Question 2

Does pelo always mean 'through the'?

Accepted Answer

Not always! The preposition por can mean 'through', 'by', 'along', or 'for'. In this sentence, because it describes movement across a physical location, 'through the' or 'around the' is the best translation.

Question 3

I learned that the verb andar means 'to walk'. Can I say 'O cão anda pelo parque'?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you absolutely can. Both caminhar and andar can mean 'to walk'. caminhar is often used when talking about the specific exercise or action of taking a walk, while andar is the more general and common everyday word for getting around on foot.

Question 4

How can I tell that parque is masculine so I know to use pelo instead of pela?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, nouns ending in -e do not have a strict rule for gender, so you simply have to memorize it as a vocabulary word: o parque. Because it takes the masculine article o, we must use pelo.

O cão caminha pelo parque.

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