Esse momento de silêncio antes dos aplausos me deixa um pouco ansioso, mas logo fico calmo.

That moment of silence before the applause makes me a bit anxious, but soon I become calm.

Breakdown of Esse momento de silêncio antes dos aplausos me deixa um pouco ansioso, mas logo fico calmo.

• mas: but
• de: of
• me: me
• antes de: before

Questions & Answers about Esse momento de silêncio antes dos aplausos me deixa um pouco ansioso, mas logo fico calmo.

Why is it esse momento and not este or aquele momento?

Portuguese has three basic demonstratives:

• este / esta / estes / estas – “this”, close to the speaker
• esse / essa / esses / essas – “that”, close to the listener or already known in the conversation
• aquele / aquela / aqueles / aquelas – “that (over there)”, far from both, or more distant in time

In modern Brazilian Portuguese, esse is often the default in everyday speech, even when traditional grammar might suggest este. So:

• Esse momento de silêncio...
  = That moment of silence (we both know which one we’re talking about).

Este momento would not be wrong, but it sounds a bit more formal or “bookish” in Brazil.
Aquele momento would suggest a more distant moment (in time or memory), like recalling a specific past event.

So esse feels natural here because it’s a familiar, identifiable situation the speaker and listener share (that usual moment right before the applause).

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What does momento de silêncio literally mean, and why is de used there?

Momento de silêncio is literally “moment of silence”.

The preposition de is often used between two nouns in Portuguese to show a relationship similar to English “of”:

• copo de água – glass of water
• noite de verão – summer night
• momento de silêncio – moment of silence

Here silêncio characterizes what kind of momento it is. You would not normally say momento silêncio; you need de to connect them.

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