Breakdown of As vacas do avô dão muito leite.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
muito
much / very
o leite
the milk
dar
to give
o avô
the grandfather
a vaca
the cow
Questions & Answers about As vacas do avô dão muito leite.
Why is it do avô instead of just de avô?
In Portuguese, you generally need a definite article (o or a) before a person's title or name. So, to say "grandfather's", you literally say "of the grandfather" (de + o avô). These two words squeeze together to form the contraction do.
I always mix up the words for grandfather and grandmother. How can I tell that avô is the grandfather?
Look at the accent mark! Avô (grandfather) has a circumflex accent (^), which makes a closed "oh" sound. Avó (grandmother) has an acute accent (´), which makes an open "aw" sound. A common trick for learners is to think of the circumflex (^) as a grandfather's hat, and the acute (´) as a grandmother's hairpin.
What verb is dão and why does it end in -ão instead of -am?
Dão means "they give" and comes from the verb dar (to give). Because dar is a highly irregular verb, its "they" form in the present tense breaks the normal -ar verb rules. Instead of ending in -am, it uses the strongly nasal -ão ending.
Would muito change its ending if it were describing a different word besides leite?
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