Word
Eu dou a prenda a vocês.
Meaning
I give the gift to you guys.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Eu dou a prenda a vocês.
Why do we say "a vocês" here instead of using the pronoun "vos"?
In Portuguese, you can say either Eu dou-vos a prenda or Eu dou a prenda a vocês. Both mean "I give the gift to you (plural)". Using the preposition a plus the stressed pronoun vocês is a great way to add emphasis, or simply an easier alternative if you find the rules for placing tiny object pronouns like vos a bit tricky to remember right now.
Why isn't there an accent mark on the "a" before "vocês"?
The a right before vocês is strictly the preposition meaning "to". You only see the grave accent (like in à) when the preposition a squishes together with the feminine word for "the" (which is also a). Since the pronoun vocês doesn't use a "the" in front of it, there is no merging, so it remains a plain, unaccented a.
I learned the word "presente" for gift. Is "prenda" exactly the same thing?
Yes! In Portugal, prenda and presente both mean "gift" or "present". They are completely interchangeable, but prenda is extremely common in everyday spoken Portuguese, especially when talking about birthday or Christmas gifts.
Is "dou" a regular verb?