Questions & Answers about Ela toma banho à noite.
Why do we use toma instead of the verb for 'to have' here?
What does the little accent on à mean in à noite?
The grave accent shows that two words crashed together. It combines the preposition a (at/to) and the feminine word for 'the', which is also a. This combination means 'at the'. In Portuguese, you say 'at the night' (à noite) rather than just 'at night'.
Since this lesson is about poder (can/may), how would I change this to 'She can take a bath at night'?
You would conjugate poder for ela (she) to get pode, and change toma back to its basic dictionary (infinitive) form, tomar. The sentence becomes Ela pode tomar banho à noite.
Does tomar banho specifically mean a bath in a tub, or can it be a shower?
It can mean both! While banho literally translates as 'bath', Portuguese speakers use tomar banho as a general phrase for getting washed, which nowadays usually means taking a shower. If you need to be specific about a shower, you can say tomar um duche.
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