contraímos

Contraímos is a Portuguese verb form derived from contrair. It functions as the first-person plural for the verb contrair and can indicate two different tenses depending on context: the present indicative (nós contraímos) and the simple past (pretérito perfeito) (nós contraímos). Because the spelling is identical in these tenses, time markers or surrounding context are required to distinguish meaning.

The verb contrair has several related senses. It can mean to contract or catch something, especially a disease or infection (contrair uma doença, contrair uma gripe). It can also mean to incur or acquire something, such as a debt, obligations, or costs (contraímos dívidas, contraímos custos). A less common meaning is to become smaller or tighter, which typically appears in reflexive constructions (contrair-se, although the exact usage varies by region).

Etymology and related forms: contrair comes from Latin contrahere, meaning to draw together, tighten, or contract. The related noun is contração (contraction). Irregularities appear in other tenses and persons, as is typical for this class of verbs in Portuguese.

Reflexive use: when the action is reflexive, the form changes to contrair-se, with the corresponding pronoun: nós contraímo-nos, etc. This contrasts with the non-reflexive use, where the clitic is not attached.

In summary, contraímos is a versatile, context-dependent form of contrair, most commonly associated with incurring or contracting something, with tense disambiguation relying on temporal elements within the sentence.