Portuguese Year 3: The sentence: subject, predicate, types of sentence and negation
Portuguese, Year 3 (Portugal): A sentence has two blocks, the noun group and the verb group; it can tell, ask, order or exclaim, and it can say yes or no.
Two blocks: who, and what is said
A sentence says something complete and has two blocks. The noun group (grupo nominal, GN) is the «who?» or «what?» we talk about: it is the subject (sujeito). The verb group (grupo verbal, GV) says what is done or what it is like: it is the predicate (predicado), and it always has the verb. In «O meu irmão / dorme no sofá.» (My brother / sleeps on the sofa.), «O meu irmão» is the subject (GN) and «dorme no sofá» is the predicate (GV).
Sentences do different jobs
Sentences serve different purposes. The declarative sentence tells: «Hoje está sol.» (Today it is sunny.) The interrogative asks: «Está sol?» (Is it sunny?) The imperative gives an order or makes a request: «Fecha a porta.» (Close the door.) The exclamative shows an emotion: «Que dia lindo!» (What a lovely day!) And any sentence can be affirmative («Gosto de sopa.», I like soup) or negative («Não gosto de sopa.», I do not like soup). To say no you use words like «não» and «nunca» (never).
Analysing «A minha irmã não gosta de sopa.»
Let us analyse «A minha irmã não gosta de sopa.» (My sister does not like soup.) Step 1: find the verb: «gosta». Step 2: ask the verb “who?”: «A minha irmã». It is the subject, the noun group. Step 3: the rest, «não gosta de sopa», is the predicate, the verb group. Step 4: the type: it tells something, so it is declarative. Step 5: it has «não», so it is negative. Step 6: if you write «A minha irmã gosta de sopa?», it is interrogative and affirmative.
The exclamation mark does not decide the type
Many people think a sentence with «!» is always exclamative. But «Fecha a porta!» (Close the door!) gives an order: it is imperative. And «Não faças barulho!» (Do not make noise!) is also imperative, and negative. The exclamative shows an emotion, like «Que susto!» (What a fright!). To decide the type, do not look only at the punctuation: ask what the sentence is for: to tell, to ask, to order or to show an emotion.
When reading aloud, writing and warning
You recognise the types of sentence when you read aloud: a question rises at the end, an order is firm, an exclamation shows the emotion. When you write, the subject and the predicate help you not to leave sentences half done: «No parque» (In the park) is not a complete sentence, because the predicate is missing. And negation is used to warn: «Não toques no fogão» (Do not touch the cooker) protects you from a danger. In a story, mixing types of sentence brings the text to life.
Test what you learned
In «O gato preto dorme no sofá.» (The black cat sleeps on the sofa.), which part is the verb group (the predicate)?
- a) O gato preto
- b) preto
- c) O gato
- d) dorme no sofá
Correct answer: d) dorme no sofá — Yes: it has the verb and says what the cat does and where.
«Não queres gelado?» (Don't you want ice cream?) What kind of sentence is it?
- a) Declarative and affirmative
- b) Interrogative and negative
- c) Interrogative and affirmative
- d) Exclamative and negative
Correct answer: b) Interrogative and negative — Yes: the «?» and the meaning make it a question, and «não» makes it negative.
«Fecha a porta!» (Close the door!) What type of sentence is it?
- a) Exclamative, because it ends with «!»
- b) Declarative, because it tells something
- c) Imperative, because it gives an order
- d) Interrogative, because it wants an answer
Correct answer: c) Imperative, because it gives an order — Yes: it tells someone to do something. The «!» only shows firmness.
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