Breakdown of Nós não encontrámos nenhuma prova no cofre.
não
not / no
nós
we
no
in the / on the / at the (m, f, pl forms: na, nos, nas)
encontrar
to find
nenhum
no / none / not any (quantity)
a prova
the proof / the evidence
o cofre
the safe
Questions & Answers about Nós não encontrámos nenhuma prova no cofre.
Why does the sentence use both não and nenhuma? Doesn't that make a double negative?
Yes, it is a double negative! In Portuguese, double negatives are required when negative words like nenhum (none/not any), nada (nothing), or ninguém (nobody) come after the verb. Because nenhuma comes after the verb encontrámos, we must put não before the verb. In English, we translate this combination as 'did not find any'.
Why is the word nenhuma used here instead of nenhum?
Nenhum changes its ending to match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Because prova (proof) is a feminine singular noun, we use the feminine singular form, nenhuma.
Why is there an accent mark on the 'a' in encontrámos?
In Portugal, the accent tells you this is the past tense (Pretérito Perfeito) rather than the present tense. We write and pronounce the past tense as encontrámos (with an open 'a' sound) to distinguish it from the present tense encontramos (with a closed 'a' sound and no accent).
Why does it say no cofre instead of em o cofre?
In Portuguese, the preposition em (in/on/at) always combines with definite articles. Here, em + o (the) merges into no. So, no cofre literally means 'in the safe'.
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