Breakdown of Quando compramos guarda-fatos novos, arrumamos a roupa.
novo
new / young
comprar
to buy
quando
when
arrumar
to tidy up
o
him/it (m)
a roupa
the clothes
o guarda-fatos
the wardrobe
Questions & Answers about Quando compramos guarda-fatos novos, arrumamos a roupa.
Why doesn't guarda-fatos change to show it is plural?
The word guarda-fatos (wardrobe) is a compound noun made from a verb (guarda, from guardar - to store) and a plural noun (fatos - suits). When a compound noun starts with a verb, the verb part never becomes plural. Because fatos is already plural, the singular (o guarda-fatos) and plural (os guarda-fatos) are exactly the same!
Since guarda-fatos looks the same in singular and plural, how do we know it means 'wardrobes' here?
The translation says 'clothes', so why does the Portuguese sentence use the singular roupa?
In Portuguese, roupa is a collective noun. It is treated grammatically as singular but refers to a group of items, much like the English word 'clothing'. While the plural roupas exists, native speakers strongly prefer the singular a roupa when talking about their clothes as a general category.
Does compramos mean 'we buy' (present) or 'we bought' (past)?
It means 'we buy' (present tense). In European Portuguese, we can tell the difference in writing because of the accent mark! The present tense is compramos (no accent), while the past tense takes an acute accent: comprámos (we bought). The exact same rule applies to arrumamos (present) versus arrumámos (past).
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