Breakdown of O escritor escreve um livro por ano.
o livro
the book
um
a / an / some (all forms)
o ano
the year
por
through / by / for / because of
escrever
to write
o escritor
the writer
Questions & Answers about O escritor escreve um livro por ano.
Why does the sentence use por ano instead of translating 'a year' directly as um ano?
In Portuguese, when talking about frequency or rates like 'a book a year' or 'twice a week', you use the preposition por (which translates closer to 'per'). You wouldn't say um ano here, because that just means a literal 'one year' as a simple quantity rather than expressing a rate.
Why is it just por ano and not combined into pelo ano?
When we use por to express a general frequency (per day, per month, per year), we don't use a definite article like o (the) before the noun. Because there is no article, the word stays as por. If we added o, it would combine into pelo (por + o), which changes the meaning closer to 'throughout the specific year' rather than a general 'per year'.
Is there a connection between the words escritor and escreve?
Yes! They share the same root. Escreve is the present tense form of the verb escrever (to write) for 'he/she/it'. By adding the ending -tor to the root, you create the masculine noun for the person doing the action: o escritor (the writer). If the writer were female, you would change the ending to make it a escritora.
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