Breakdown of Ele calça o sapato esquerdo.
ele
he
o sapato
the shoe
esquerdo
left (adjective)
calçar
to put on (shoes)
Questions & Answers about Ele calça o sapato esquerdo.
Why does the sentence use o sapato (the shoe) instead of o seu sapato (his shoe)?
In Portuguese, when it is obvious who the owner is—especially with clothing or body parts—you usually just use the definite article (o or a) instead of a possessive word like seu. Because the sentence starts with Ele, it is naturally understood that he is putting on his own shoe.
Wait, does calça mean "puts on"? I thought the word for "pants" was calças.
If I want to say "He puts on a shirt", can I also use the verb calçar?
Why is esquerdo (left) placed after the noun sapato (shoe)?
In Portuguese, descriptive adjectives normally come right after the noun they describe. Instead of "left shoe", the structure is "shoe left" (sapato esquerdo). The adjective also ends in -o to agree with the masculine, singular noun sapato.
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