Breakdown of Eu gosto de caminhar pelo campo.
eu
I
gostar de
to like
caminhar
to walk
pelo
through the (m.sg, pela, pelos, pelas)
Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de caminhar pelo campo.
Why is the word pelo used here instead of just por?
pelo is a mandatory combination of the preposition por (through) and the masculine word for 'the', which is o. Because campo is a masculine word, we combine por + o together to make pelo (through the).
Why do we need the word de after gosto?
The verb gostar (to like) is almost always followed by the preposition de. In Portuguese, you do not just 'like' an activity or thing, you 'like of' it. Therefore, 'I like walking' becomes gosto de caminhar.
The English translation says 'walking', so why do we use caminhar (to walk)?
In English, we often use the '-ing' form for activities (I like walking). In Portuguese, when an action verb follows a preposition like de, it must stay in its basic dictionary form, called the infinitive. That is why we use caminhar instead of a continuous '-ing' form.
Does pelo always translate to 'through the'?
Not always! The base preposition por is very versatile. While it means 'through' when you are moving across a physical space like o campo, it can also mean 'by' (like a book written by someone) or 'for' depending on the context of the sentence.