Tenho sede e bebo a água.

Breakdown of Tenho sede e bebo a água.

e
and
beber
to drink
a água
the water
ter sede
to be thirsty

Questions & Answers about Tenho sede e bebo a água.

Why does the sentence use Tenho instead of a Portuguese word for I am?
In Portuguese, physical sensations like thirst, hunger, and cold are expressed using the verb ter (to have) followed by a noun. So, Tenho sede literally translates to I have thirst.
Where is the word for I in this sentence?
The pronoun eu (I) is dropped because the verb endings already show who is doing the action. The letter o at the end of both tenho and bebo tells us that I am the subject.
Why is it a água and not o água?
The word água (water) is a feminine noun in Portuguese. Because it is feminine, it uses the feminine definite article a (the) instead of the masculine article o.
How should I pronounce the word e (and) here?
In European Portuguese, the conjunction e (and) is pronounced like the ee in the English word see, rather than the eh sound you might expect.

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