Breakdown of O orador bebe água durante a palestra.
beber
to drink
a água
the water
o orador
the speaker
durante
during
a palestra
the lecture
Questions & Answers about O orador bebe água durante a palestra.
Why doesn't durante combine with the article a like other prepositions do?
Unlike prepositions such as de or em (which combine with a to make da and na), the preposition durante never contracts with articles. You just put them side by side: durante a palestra (during the lecture).
Does orador mean speaker like a public speaker, or like someone who speaks a language?
An orador is specifically a public speaker, orator, or someone giving a speech. If you want to talk about a speaker of a language (like a native speaker), you would use the word falante.
Why is it just água and not a água?
Just like in English, when we talk about an unspecified amount of a liquid in a general sense, we don't need the definite article. The speaker is just drinking water in general, not a specific bottle of the water, so it is just bebe água.
Is palestra related to the English word lecture?
Yes, palestra is the word for an educational talk or lecture. Watch out for the Portuguese word leitura, which looks like lecture but is actually a false friend meaning reading.
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