Phrase · 🎬 Storytelling with markers

Quando eu vi, o ônibus já tinha saído.

Before I knew it, the bus had already left.

C1organizing discoursefamilierAudio · bientôt disponible

Pourquoi chaque mot est à sa place

Quando1conjonctionwheneu1pronomI1re pers. sing. · sujetvi1verbesawver · passé · 1re pers. sing.,odéterminantthemasc. · sing. · définiônibus2nombusmasc. · sing.jáadverbealreadytinha3verbehadter · imparfait · 3e pers. sing.saído3verbeleftsair · participe.

Quando → vi: quando eu vi
ônibus → tinha: subject–verb
tinha → saído: ter + participle

Pourquoi elle est construite ainsi

Les notes correspondent aux numéros ci-dessus.

1
Quando eu vi, … = "before I knew it": a storytelling formula for sudden change. Discourse markers in conversation →
2
ônibus is the Brazilian word for "bus"; same form in the plural.
3
já tinha saído: the pluperfect, completed before the moment you noticed. Past participles & the pluperfect (tinha feito) →