Log inSign up

Nós comemos na sala de jantar.

Nós comemos na sala de jantar.
We eat in the dining room.
From Lesson 35:Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Nós comemos na sala de jantar.

Why does the sentence use na instead of just em for "in"?
Na is a mandatory combination (contraction) of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the feminine word for "the", which is a. Because sala (room) is a feminine noun, we use na to mean "in the".
Why doesn't the preposition de combine with the word after it here?
In your current lesson, you are learning to contract de with demonstratives (like este becoming deste). However, jantar is a verb meaning "to dine". We do not contract prepositions with verbs, so de stands alone here.
How exactly does sala de jantar mean "dining room"?
English often puts two words next to each other to make a new concept (dining + room). Portuguese usually connects them with de (of). Since sala is "room" and jantar is "to dine" or "dinner", sala de jantar literally means "room of dining".
Do I always have to say nós (we) before comemos?
No, you can simply say Comemos na sala de jantar. The verb comer (to eat) changes to comemos only when talking about "we". Since the verb ending already tells us who is eating, the word nós is optional and mostly used for emphasis.

Learn Nós comemos na sala de jantar and more in Portuguese

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Portuguese →