Question 1

Why is it 'apesar do' instead of just 'apesar de'?

Accepted Answer

The phrase apesar de means despite or in spite of. Because we are saying despite the extreme cold, we need the masculine definite article o (the) before frio. In Portuguese, de and o combine to form the contraction do.

Question 2

Is 'apesar de' always followed by a noun phrase like 'o frio extremo'?

Accepted Answer

Not always! As this lesson covers, it can be followed by a noun, but it can also be followed by a verb in its basic dictionary form (the infinitive). For example, you could say apesar de estar frio (despite it being cold).

Question 3

Why is the verb 'subíamos' used here instead of the simple past tense 'subimos'?

Accepted Answer

Subíamos is the Imperfect past tense. We use the Imperfect here because climbing the mountain was a repeated, ongoing habit in the past. This is strongly signaled by the phrase todos os dias (every day). If you used the simple past (subimos), it would mean you climbed the mountain just once.

Question 4

I usually see 'frio' as an adjective. Is it an adjective here?

Accepted Answer

No, in this sentence frio is a masculine noun meaning the cold. We know this because it has the article o (hidden inside do) in front of it. The word extremo is the adjective describing the cold, which is why it comes after the noun.

Nós subíamos a montanha todos os dias, apesar do frio extremo.

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