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Não pudeste fazer o exame na sexta-feira?

Não pudeste fazer o exame na sexta-feira?
Couldn't you take the exam on Friday?
From Lesson 78:Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Não pudeste fazer o exame na sexta-feira?

Why does the sentence use pudeste?
Pudeste is the informal 'you' (tu) form of the irregular verb poder (to be able to) in the simple past tense. Notice how the verb root changes completely from pod- to pud- in this tense.
Where is the word for 'you' in this sentence?
It is hidden in the verb! The ending -este in pudeste tells us exactly who the subject is (tu). In Portuguese, it is very common to drop the subject pronoun when the verb ending makes it obvious.
In English we say 'take an exam'. Why does this sentence use fazer?
In Portuguese, you do not 'take' a test using literal translation verbs like tomar or pegar. Instead, you 'do' a test, which is why we use fazer. It is always fazer um exame or fazer um teste.
Why does it say na sexta-feira instead of just em sexta-feira?
Days of the week in Portuguese take the definite article a (the). When you combine the preposition em (in/on/at) with the article a, they contract to form na. So you are literally saying 'on the Friday'.

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