Question 1

Since quis doesn't have an eu (I) in front of it, could it also mean "he didn't want" or "she didn't want"?

Accepted Answer

Yes! For the verb querer (to want) in the past tense (Pretérito Perfeito), both the "I" form and the "he/she/it" form are exactly the same: quis. The English translation tells us it means "I didn't want" here, but in real life, you would rely on context. If it wasn't clear, you would just add eu, ele, or ela to the sentence.

Question 2

What verb does veio come from?

Accepted Answer

Veio is the "he/she/it" past tense form of vir (to come). It is a highly irregular verb, meaning it changes its stem completely instead of following normal past tense ending rules. Here, ele veio means "he came".

Question 3

I always mix up the past tense of vir (to come) and ver (to see). How do I tell them apart for "he/she/it"?

Accepted Answer

They are definitely easy to confuse! For "he/she/it" in the past tense, vir becomes veio (he came), while ver becomes viu (he saw). Since this sentence uses veio, we know it is about him arriving today, not seeing something.

Question 4

Why is ele (he) included before veio, but eu (I) is left out before quis?

Accepted Answer

Portuguese often drops pronouns when the context makes the subject clear. Here, the speaker drops the "I" because they are establishing their own point of view first. However, they include ele right after the word mas (but) to clearly signal a switch in the subject: I didn't want the visit, but he came anyway.

Não quis a visita, mas ele veio hoje.

Breakdown of Não quis a visita, mas ele veio hoje.

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