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O meu pai gosta do silêncio e não ouve ninguém.

O meu pai gosta do silêncio e não ouve ninguém.
My father likes silence and doesn't hear anyone.
From Lesson 60:Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about O meu pai gosta do silêncio e não ouve ninguém.

Why does the sentence use não ouve ninguém instead of just não ouve alguém to mean "doesn't hear anyone"?
Portuguese uses a double negative rule. When a negative word like ninguém (nobody/no one) comes after the verb, you must also put não before the verb. Literally, this sentence says "does not hear nobody," which translates to standard English as "doesn't hear anyone."
Why is it gosta do silêncio instead of just gosta silêncio?
The verb gostar (to like) always needs the preposition de (of) right after it. Also, Portuguese often uses definite articles like o (the) before abstract nouns like silêncio. When de and o meet, they merge into the contraction do.
Why is there an O at the very beginning of the sentence before meu pai?
In European Portuguese, you almost always put a definite article like o (the) before a possessive word like meu (my). So, it literally translates to "The my father," which is the natural way to say "My father."
What verb is ouve?
Ouve is the "he/she/it" form of the verb ouvir (to hear). It is an irregular verb, meaning it doesn't perfectly follow the standard spelling rules for regular verbs ending in "-ir", so its forms are best memorized.

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