Breakdown of A rapariga precisa do recibo e o rapaz trá-lo.
o rapaz
the boy
a rapariga
the girl
e
and
do
of the / from the (do, da, dos, das)
precisar de
to need
trazer
to bring
-lo
it / him (m) [-la, -los, -las]
o recibo
the receipt
Questions & Answers about A rapariga precisa do recibo e o rapaz trá-lo.
Why is it trá-lo instead of traz-o?
When attaching a direct object pronoun like o (it) to a verb that ends in -r, -s, or -z, we drop that final letter and change the pronoun to -lo, -la, -los, or -las. The verb here is traz (he brings). We drop the -z and attach -lo because it refers to the masculine noun o recibo.
Why does trá-lo have an accent mark?
When we drop the final -z from traz, we are left with tra. In Portuguese, when verbs change like this before adding a pronoun, they often need an accent mark to keep their original stress and vowel sound. The acute accent makes sure the 'a' maintains its open 'ah' sound, creating trá-lo.
Why is it precisa do recibo and not just precisa o recibo?
The verb precisar (to need) must always be used with the preposition de. When de combines with the masculine definite article o (the), they merge into do.
Could I put the pronoun before the verb and say o rapaz o traz?
In European Portuguese, object pronouns usually attach to the end of the verb with a hyphen in simple affirmative sentences. Placing the pronoun before the verb is very common in Brazilian Portuguese, but in Portugal, the pronoun only moves before the verb if it is pulled there by a 'magnet' word, such as a negative word like não.
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