Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eu saio do apartamento quando está escuro.

Eu saio do apartamento quando está escuro.

I leave the apartment when it is dark.

Breakdown of Eu saio do apartamento quando está escuro.

of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)

estar

to be (temporary / location)

quando

when

Questions & Answers about Eu saio do apartamento quando está escuro.

If the infinitive is sair, why is the 'eu' form saio? Wouldn't a regular verb just be 'sao'?

Exactly! For regular -ir verbs, you drop the ending and add -o (like abrir becoming abro). If sair were regular, it would be 'sao'. But sair is an irregular verb. In the present tense, it adds an extra 'i' to become saio.

In English we just say 'leave the apartment'. Why is there a do (de + o) here?

In Portuguese, when you physically leave a place, the verb sair must be followed by the preposition de (meaning 'from' or 'out of'). Since apartamento is a masculine noun, de combines with the word o ('the') to make do. Literally, you are saying 'I go out from the apartment'.

Why does the sentence use está instead of é for 'it is dark'?

We use está (from the verb estar) because the darkness is a temporary condition of the environment at that time of day. If you used é (from the verb ser), it would mean the apartment is permanently a dark place, like a cave.

How do you pronounce saio?