Breakdown of Na infância, nós morávamos numa aldeia.
nós
we
um
a / an / some (all forms)
em
in / on / at
morar
to live
a
to / at (direction)
a infância
the childhood
a aldeia
the village
Questions & Answers about Na infância, nós morávamos numa aldeia.
Why do we use the Imperfeito (morávamos) here instead of the Perfeito (morámos)?
The phrase Na infância (In childhood) sets up a broad, continuous period in the past. We use the Pretérito Imperfeito to describe background situations, ongoing states, or things we "used to do" over an extended time, rather than a single completed event.
Why does morávamos have an accent mark on the "a"?
In the nós form of the Imperfeito for -ar verbs, the spoken stress naturally falls on the third-to-last syllable (mo-RÁ-va-mos). In Portuguese, any word stressed on the third-to-last syllable must have a written accent mark to guide your pronunciation.
Could I drop the pronoun nós in this sentence?
Yes! Because the -ávamos ending is completely unique to the nós (we) form, it is perfectly clear who is living in the village. Saying Na infância, morávamos numa aldeia is very natural and common.
What are the words Na and numa made of?
They are contractions of the preposition em (in/on/at). Na is a combination of em + a (in the), and numa is em + uma (in a). Portuguese requires you to blend em with the articles that follow it.
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