Breakdown of Começou a chover enquanto a banda tocava no parque.
em
in / on / at
a
to / at (direction)
começar
to begin
o parque
the park
chover
to rain
a banda
the band
enquanto
while
tocar
to ring
Questions & Answers about Começou a chover enquanto a banda tocava no parque.
Why do we use começou (Pretérito Perfeito) for starting to rain, but tocava (Pretérito Imperfeito) for the band playing?
This is a classic combination of the two past tenses! Tocava (was playing) is the Pretérito Imperfeito because it describes an ongoing background scene. Começou (started) is the Pretérito Perfeito because it is a sudden, completed event that happened during that background scene.
Does the word enquanto usually go with the Imperfeito?
Yes! Enquanto means "while," so it naturally sets up an ongoing, continuous action. Whenever you use enquanto to say "while [something was happening]", the verb that follows it will usually be in the Pretérito Imperfeito, just like tocava here.
Why is there an a between começou and chover?
In Portuguese, the verb começar (to start) requires the preposition a when it is followed by another verb in its dictionary form (the infinitive). To say you started doing something, you always use começar a + [action].
I know tocar means "to touch." Why is it used for the band "playing"?
Tocar translates to "to touch," but it is also the standard verb for playing a musical instrument or playing music. If you were talking about playing a sport or a game, you would use the verb jogar instead.
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