Breakdown of Como um bocado de pão com queijo.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
com
with
o pão
the bread
comer
to eat
o queijo
the cheese
um bocado
a bit, a while
Questions & Answers about Como um bocado de pão com queijo.
Why does Como mean 'I eat' here when I learned it means 'how'?
Como is a tricky word because it has multiple meanings. It can mean 'how' or 'like', but it is also the 'I' form of the verb comer (to eat) in the present tense. Since Portuguese often drops the subject pronoun eu (I), the sentence simply starts with Como to mean 'I eat'.
What is the difference between um bocado and um pouco?
Both can mean 'a little bit'. However, um bocado comes from the word boca (mouth), originally meaning a 'mouthful' or a physical piece of something. This makes it a perfect fit when talking about food! In Portugal, native speakers use um bocado very frequently in everyday speech to mean 'a bit'.
Could I say pão de queijo instead of pão com queijo?
Why is there no word for 'the' before pão or queijo?
Just like in English, when you talk about a general substance or a mass noun like bread or cheese, you do not need to use a definite article like o or a. You are simply eating a bit of bread in general, not a bit of 'the' specific bread.
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