Questions & Answers about Pagamos os impostos em maio.
The translation says "We pay", but I don't see the word for "we" in the sentence.
In Portuguese, you can usually drop the subject pronoun because the verb ending tells you who is doing the action. The ending -amos in pagamos can only refer to nós (we), so adding it isn't necessary unless you want to emphasize it.
Doesn't pagamos also mean "we paid" in the past tense?
Yes, it does! For regular -ar verbs, the nós form is exactly the same in both the present tense (pagamos = we pay) and the simple past tense (pagamos = we paid). You have to rely on context to know which one is meant.
Why does the sentence use os impostos (the taxes) instead of os nossos impostos (our taxes)?
In English, we often use possessive words like "our" or "my" when talking about personal responsibilities. In Portuguese, it is much more common to just use the definite article (like os) when it is obvious who the owner is. Since "we" are paying, it's naturally assumed we are paying our own taxes.
Why is maio written with a lowercase letter?
Unlike in English, the months of the year are not capitalized in Portuguese unless they appear at the very beginning of a sentence.
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