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Asiyah
Why do you drop the word 'eu' in a sentence about age?
When I type 'Eu tenho 20 anos" it means 'I am 20 years'. However when I add the word 'old' as in 'I am 20 years old' then the sentence changes to 'Tenho 20 anos de idade'. The word 'eu' is dropped and and 'de idade' is added. Why is this? What grammar rule is this?
Jan 20, 2013 7:14 PM
Answers · 6
There is no grammar rule. Portuguese is a pro-drop language, which means you can drop pronouns. Both sentences are correct. You can add "eu" to the second sentence and drop it in the first one. Notice that "Tenho" already means "I have", so the use of "eu" is optional. I usually drop the pronouns in writing because I think it looks rather redundant.
January 20, 2013
Also be sure to talk: "Eu tenho 20 anos de idade."
January 25, 2013
No português, os verbos aparecem nas frases conjugados, como: "Eu vou embora","Nós fomos embora"; diferente do inglês que as outras palavras da frase conjugam o verbo. Então, quando o verbo já estiver conjugado e o pronome não indicar gênero(ele/ela) fica a seu critério o uso ou não do pronome, como nas sentenças acima: "Eu tenho 20 anos de idade","Tenho 20 anos de idade".
January 21, 2013
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Asiyah
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Italian, Portuguese
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin), French, Italian, Portuguese
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