Breakdown of O menino teve febre alta ontem?
alto
tall / high
ter
to have
ontem
yesterday
o menino
the little boy
Questions & Answers about O menino teve febre alta ontem?
Which verb is teve and why does it look so different from regular past tense verbs?
Teve is the "he/she/it" form of the verb ter (to have) in the simple past tense. Ter is highly irregular, so it does not use standard past tense endings. Its past tense forms are mostly based on the root tiv- (like tive for "I had"), but the "he/she/it/you" form is teve.
How do we translate the "Did" from the English question?
The English translation says "a high fever", but there is no word for "a" (uma) in the Portuguese sentence. Why?
When talking about having an illness or symptom like a fever, a cold, or a headache, Portuguese generally drops the indefinite article (um or uma). You simply say ter febre (to have [a] fever).
Why is the adjective alta placed after febre?
In Portuguese, descriptive adjectives usually come directly after the noun they modify. Since febre (fever) is a feminine noun, the adjective takes the feminine form alta (high) instead of the masculine alto.