Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O cliente já recebeu a carta. - The client already received the letter.

O cliente já recebeu a carta.

The client already received the letter.

Breakdown of O cliente já recebeu a carta.

Questions & Answers about O cliente já recebeu a carta.

What is the dictionary form of recebeu and how is it changed to the past tense here?

It comes from the regular verb receber (to receive). To make the simple past tense for the "he/she/it" or você form with an -er verb, you drop the -er ending and add -eu.

Why does já come before the verb?

In Portuguese, short words like já (already) usually go immediately before the verb. In English we often put "already" at the very end of the sentence, but in Portuguese saying o cliente recebeu a carta já would sound quite unnatural.

Is cliente a masculine or feminine word?

It can be either! Nouns ending in -e do not give away their gender just by the ending. We know this specific client is male because of the masculine word for "the" (o) in front of it. A female client would be a cliente.

Is there a trick to remembering the past tense ending -eu for regular -er verbs?

Yes! For regular -er verbs, the "he/she/it" ending in the past tense is always -eu, which happens to look exactly like the Portuguese word for "I" (eu). Even though it is the "he/she" form, the verb ends with the letters e-u.