Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Alguém te incomoda no trabalho?

Alguém te incomoda no trabalho?

Is someone bothering you at work?

Breakdown of Alguém te incomoda no trabalho?

in the / on the / at the (m, f, pl forms: na, nos, nas)

o trabalho

the work / the job

you (informal object)

incomodar

to bother

Questions & Answers about Alguém te incomoda no trabalho?

Why is the pronoun te placed before the verb instead of after it?

This is the main rule of this lesson! The word alguém (someone) is an indefinite pronoun. In European Portuguese, indefinite pronouns act as 'magnets' that pull the object pronoun (te) so it comes right before the verb (incomoda), rather than attaching to the end of it with a hyphen.

Why is the verb conjugated as incomoda (3rd person) when the sentence contains te (2nd person)?

The verb always matches the subject doing the action. Here, the subject is alguém (someone), which takes the 3rd-person singular form (just like 'he' or 'she'). The pronoun te is the object receiving the action (someone is bothering you), so it doesn't affect how the verb is conjugated.

Could I use tu instead of te here?

No, because tu is a subject pronoun used when 'you' are doing the action. In this sentence, someone else is doing the bothering, and you are receiving it. Because 'you' are the object of the verb, we must use the object pronoun te.

Why is 'at work' translated as no trabalho instead of just em trabalho?