Word
Precisamos da encomenda, mas ele não no-la envia.
Meaning
We need the parcel, but he won't send it to us.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Precisamos da encomenda, mas ele não no-la envia.
não
not / no
ele
he
mas
but
precisar de
to need
Questions & Answers about Precisamos da encomenda, mas ele não no-la envia.
Where does the word no-la come from?
no-la is a contraction of two pronouns: nos (to us, the indirect object) and a (it, the direct object referring to the feminine noun encomenda). When nos combines with a, the "s" is dropped, an "l" is added, and they are joined with a hyphen to make no-la.
Why does no-la come before the verb envia?
In European Portuguese, object pronouns normally come after the verb. However, certain "magnet words" pull the pronouns to the front of the verb. The negative word não is a very strong magnet word, so it pulls no-la before envia.
Why is there a da before encomenda instead of just a?
The verb precisar (to need) requires the preposition de when you mention what is needed. Here, de combines with the feminine word for "the" (a) to form da. Literally, it is like saying "we have need of the parcel."
The English translation says "he won't send it", but isn't envia in the present tense?
Yes, envia is the present tense of enviar (to send). In Portuguese, the present tense is frequently used to talk about the immediate future or to express an active refusal to do something right now, which often translates to "won't" in English.