Breakdown of Foi um reencontro inesperado e maravilhoso!
ser
to be
e
and
um
a / an / some (all forms)
maravilhoso
wonderful
o reencontro
the reunion
inesperado
unexpected
Questions & Answers about Foi um reencontro inesperado e maravilhoso!
This lesson is about reciprocal pronouns like nos. How could we change this sentence's noun (reencontro) into a reciprocal verb phrase meaning 'We reunited'?
You would use the verb reencontrar (to meet again) with the reciprocal pronoun nos (each other): Nós reencontrámo-nos (We reunited / We met each other again). Notice that in the past tense, when we attach -nos to the end of a we-form verb, we drop the final 's' of the verb and add an accent mark to keep the stress on the correct syllable!
Why do we use foi (the past tense of ser) instead of a form of estar for a reunion, which is a temporary event?
How does the word inesperado break down?
It comes from the verb esperar, which means 'to wait' or 'to expect'. The past participle esperado means 'expected', and adding the prefix in- makes it opposite. So, inesperado perfectly mirrors the English word 'unexpected'.
Both inesperado and maravilhoso come after the noun. Could they go before it?
It is best to leave them after the noun. In Portuguese, descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun they modify. Placing two strong descriptive adjectives before the noun would make the sentence sound highly poetic or excessively dramatic, rather than a normal, happy exclamation.
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