Você deve tocar essa canção mais devagar para a criança escutar melhor.

You must play this song more slowly so the child can listen better.

Breakdown of Você deve tocar essa canção mais devagar para a criança escutar melhor.

• você: you
• mais: more
• a criança: the child
• escutar: to listen
• tocar: to play
• dever: to have to
• a canção: the song
• devagar: slowly
• melhor: better

Questions & Answers about Você deve tocar essa canção mais devagar para a criança escutar melhor.

Why is você used instead of tu in this sentence?

In Brazilian Portuguese, você has largely replaced tu in everyday speech. While tu is still used in some regions, especially in the South and Northeast of Brazil, você is generally the default form of addressing someone directly in most of the country. Grammatically, você is considered a third-person pronoun, but it functions as a second-person pronoun in conversation.

What’s the difference between escutar and ouvir?

Both mean to hear, but escutar can imply paying attention while hearing, often translated as to listen in English, whereas ouvir can simply mean perceiving sound. In this context, "para a criança escutar melhor" suggests the child is actively listening.

Why do we use deve and not another form like precisa?

Deve translates more directly to should or ought to, implying a recommendation or obligation. Precisa translates to needs to, indicating a necessity. Saying "Você deve tocar essa canção mais devagar" is closer to advising someone that they should do it, rather than strictly stating they have to do it.

Is canção different from música in Portuguese?

They can often be used interchangeably to mean a song. However, canção is sometimes seen as more specific or poetic, while música is more general and can refer to any type of music, not necessarily a song with lyrics. In everyday speech, you’ll hear Brazilians saying música most often.

Why do we say mais devagar instead of mais lentamente?

Both expressions are correct, but mais devagar sounds more natural and colloquial in everyday speech. Mais lentamente is also correct but can sound more formal or slightly stiff in comparison. In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, devagar is the usual word to convey the idea of slowly.