- Complete the sentence: "Depois de ___ o jantar, eu lavo a louça."
Answer: comer
After the preposition "depois de", Portuguese uses the infinitive: "Depois de comer o jantar". The gerund "comendo" is tempting because English says "after eating", but Portuguese does not use the gerund in this position.
- Which sentence is written correctly in Portuguese?
Answer: Antes de sair, eu fechei a porta.
The correct pattern is "antes de" + infinitive: "Antes de sair". "Antes que" must introduce a clause with a subjunctive verb, such as "antes que eu saia", so it cannot be followed by an infinitive.
- Choose the correct translation: "First I study, then I eat."
Answer: Primeiro eu estudo, depois eu como.
"Primeiro" means "first" and "depois" means "then". Here "primeiro" is an adverb, so it stays masculine. "Antes" means "before", which flips the sequence. "Depois de" needs a noun or an infinitive after it.
- Choose the correct translation: "After that, we ate lunch."
Answer: Depois disso, nós almoçamos.
"After that" is "depois disso", where "de" and "isso" contract to "disso". "Almoçamos" is the past tense for "we ate lunch". "Depois de isso" is tempting, but the two words must contract.
- You are telling a friend about your day. Which word introduces the last event? "___, eu fui dormir."
Answer: Por fim
"Por fim" means "finally" or "at last" and signals the last step of a sequence. "Primeiro" is tempting because it is also a sequence word, but it opens the narration instead of closing it.
