Breakdown of Escute a música e tente cantar em voz alta.
em
in
e
and
tentar
to try
escutar
to listen
a música
the music
cantar
to sing
a voz
the voice
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Questions & Answers about Escute a música e tente cantar em voz alta.
Why is escute used instead of ouça in this sentence?
Both escute (from the verb escutar) and ouça (from ouvir) can mean listen in Portuguese. In the imperative você form, we say escute or ouça. The nuance is that escutar can suggest paying close attention or active listening, while ouvir can simply mean perceiving sound. However, in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, escute and ouça are often used interchangeably in this kind of imperative.
Why does the verb become tente when telling someone to try something?
In Portuguese, to form the imperative for você, we use the present subjunctive. The verb tentar in the present subjunctive is tente, which is then used as the imperative form addressing você (second-person singular polite form). If you were using the tu form, it would be tenta.
What does em voz alta literally mean?
The phrase em voz alta literally translates to in a loud voice. It’s the typical way to say out loud in Portuguese.
Could I just say cantar alto instead of cantar em voz alta?
Yes, cantar alto is used in informal speech to mean sing loudly. However, em voz alta is more specific and is commonly used when we want someone to say or sing something so that others can hear it clearly, like out loud in English.
Is this sentence formal, or can it be used in casual conversation?
Using você-based imperative (escute, tente) is quite standard in Brazilian Portuguese and can be used in everyday contexts. It’s not overly formal. If you were speaking to a friend, you could also use the tu form in some regions (e.g., escuta, tenta), but the você form is definitely acceptable and commonly heard throughout Brazil.