Breakdown of Quis dormir neste quarto, mas não consigo.
não
not / no
mas
but
em
in / on / at
o quarto
the bedroom / the room
Questions & Answers about Quis dormir neste quarto, mas não consigo.
Why is it quis instead of a regular past tense ending for the verb "to want"?
The verb querer (to want) is highly irregular in the Pretérito Perfeito (simple past). Instead of dropping the ending and adding a standard suffix, the entire root changes. The "I" form becomes quis. This irregular quis- root is used for all subjects in this tense, giving us forms like ele quis (he wanted) and nós quisemos (we wanted).
Why does the sentence switch from the past tense (quis) to the present tense (consigo)?
This accurately reflects the timeline of the speaker's experience. Quis is in the simple past because the initial desire or attempt to sleep happened in the past. However, não consigo (I am not able to) is in the present tense because the struggle to fall asleep is happening right now.
Could I use não posso instead of não consigo to say "I can't" here?
Not naturally. In Portuguese, there is a big difference between poder (to be allowed to / to be possible) and conseguir (to be able to / to manage to). Because the speaker is struggling with the physical ability to fall asleep, não consigo is the correct verb to use. You would use não posso if you weren't allowed to sleep in the room.
Where does the word neste come from?