Questions & Answers about Ninguém lhe empresta o dinheiro.
Why is lhe placed before the verb instead of after it?
In Portuguese, object pronouns usually come after the verb and are attached with a hyphen. However, certain words "pull" the pronoun to the front of the verb. Negative words like ninguém (nobody) act as magnets for these pronouns, so it must be Ninguém lhe empresta rather than Ninguém empresta-lhe. The translation says "lends him", but could lhe mean something else?
Yes! Lhe is an indirect object pronoun that can mean "to him", "to her", or "to you" (when using the formal você). Without more context, this sentence could also perfectly mean "Nobody lends her the money" or "Nobody lends you the money." Do we need to add não to make the sentence negative?
No. When a negative word like ninguém (nobody) comes before the verb as the subject, you do not use não. The word ninguém already makes the entire sentence negative. Why does empresta end in -a?
Empresta is the "he/she/it/you" form of the verb emprestar (to lend). Words like ninguém (nobody) or alguém (somebody) are treated as singular subjects, just like in English, so they use this third-person singular verb form. Learn Ninguém lhe empresta o dinheiro and more in Portuguese
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