Question 1

Why are there no words for "I" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, the verb endings usually tell you who is doing the action. Both leio (I read) and trabalho (I work) end in -o, which is the typical ending for "I" in the present tense. You can include eu (I) for emphasis, but it is completely normal to leave it out.

Question 2

Leio looks a bit different. What is the root verb?

Accepted Answer

The verb is ler (to read). It is slightly irregular for the "I" form, which is why it becomes leio. A regular verb like trabalhar (to work) just drops the ending and adds an -o, becoming trabalho.

Question 3

I thought trabalho was a noun meaning a job or work. Can it be a verb too?

Accepted Answer

Yes! O trabalho means the job or the work. But here, trabalho is the "I" form of the verb trabalhar (to work). It is very common in Portuguese for the "I" form of a verb to look exactly the same as a related noun. The context tells us it is an action here.

Question 4

The translation says "when I am not working", but isn't trabalho the simple present tense?

Accepted Answer

Exactly. In Portuguese, the simple present tense is often used for things happening right now, which we would say in English using "am doing" or "are doing". Quando não trabalho is a very natural way to express both "when I don't work" and "when I am not working".

Question 5

Why is não placed before the verb?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, negative words like não always go directly before the verb they are negating. There are no helper words like "do" or "does" in Portuguese, so "I do not work" is simply não trabalho.

Leio um livro quando não trabalho.

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