Question 1

Why is it o mesmo here instead of a mesma?

Accepted Answer

mesmo means "same" and it has to agree with the noun it describes. Since carro (car) is a masculine, singular noun, we use o mesmo. If they had the same house (casa), you would say a mesma casa.

Question 2

I thought adjectives usually go after the noun in Portuguese. Why does mesmo come before carro?

Accepted Answer

You're right that most descriptive adjectives come after the noun (like carro vermelho for "red car"). However, mesmo is one of the few special adjectives that almost always comes before the noun when it translates to "same".

Question 3

Can mesmo mean anything else? I feel like I've seen it used differently.

Accepted Answer

Yes! Besides meaning "same", mesmo is frequently used as an adverb to mean "really" or "exactly" (like É mesmo bom! meaning "It is really good!"). But when you see it paired with a "the" word (o, a, os, as) right before a noun, it means "the same".

Question 4

Why does the verb têm have a circumflex accent (the little hat) on the 'e'?

Accepted Answer

That accent tells us the verb is plural! têm is the "they" form (eles têm). Without the accent, tem is the singular "he/she/it" form (ele tem). This is a very common spelling rule for the verb ter (to have) and helps you quickly tell if the subject is singular or plural.

Eles têm o mesmo carro.

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