Breakdown of Estavas a empacotar tudo ou a embrulhar os copos?
estar
to be (temporary / location)
ou
or
o
him/it (m)
tudo
everything
o copo
the glass
empacotar
to pack (into packages/boxes)
embrulhar
to wrap
Questions & Answers about Estavas a empacotar tudo ou a embrulhar os copos?
Why do we use tudo here instead of todos?
Tudo means everything or all things in a general sense, and it never changes form. If you wanted to say all the glasses, you would use the plural adjective todos to match the masculine plural noun (todos os copos). Because everything stands alone in this sentence without pointing to a specific noun, we use the invariable word tudo.
Why does the sentence use Estavas a empacotar instead of a single past tense verb?
This is how you talk about an ongoing action in the past, matching the English were packing. In European Portuguese, you form this past continuous structure using the imperfect past tense of estar (here, estavas for you were) followed by the preposition a and the infinitive verb (empacotar).
What is the exact difference between empacotar and embrulhar?
Empacotar means to pack things into a box, bag, or package (a pacote). Embrulhar means to wrap something up, like wrapping a gift or individually wrapping fragile things like these glasses (copos) in paper or bubble wrap to protect them.
Why is there an a right before embrulhar?
The sentence is asking if you were packing or wrapping. Both actions are connected to the starting verb estavas. To maintain the grammatical structure of estar a plus an action, you must repeat the preposition a before the second infinitive verb (embrulhar).
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