Breakdown of O quinto convidado não pôde vir.
não
not / no
poder
can / may (verb)
vir
to come
o convidado
the guest
quinto
fifth
Questions & Answers about O quinto convidado não pôde vir.
Does the ordinal number quinto have to match the noun it describes?
Yes! Ordinal numbers in Portuguese act like adjectives. Since convidado (guest) is a masculine, singular noun, we use the masculine singular form quinto. If we were talking about a female guest, we would need to change both words to feminine: a quinta convidada.
Could I put quinto after the noun, like o convidado quinto?
Usually, no. Unlike most regular adjectives in Portuguese which often come after the noun, ordinal numbers almost always come before the noun, just like in English.
Why does pôde have a little hat (accent mark) on it?
The circumflex accent shows that this is the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito). Ele pôde means he could or was able to. Without the accent, ele pode is the present tense, meaning he can or is able to. The accent also changes the pronunciation to a more closed 'o' sound.
Why is vir (to come) in its infinitive form instead of being conjugated to match the guest?
The verb poder (to be able to) acts as a helper verb here. In Portuguese, when you use a conjugated helper verb followed by another action, the second verb stays in the infinitive (unconjugated) form. So we conjugate the first part to match the guest (não pôde) and leave the second part alone (vir).
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