Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças.

I want to take this cake to the children.

Breakdown of Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças.

• eu: I
• este: this
• querer: to want
• a criança: the child
• levar: to take
• o bolo: the cake
• para as: for the

Questions & Answers about Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças.

What is the difference between levar and trazer here? In English I’d usually say “bring this cake to the children.”

Portuguese pays more attention to direction than English.

• levar = to take away from where the speaker is now to another place
• trazer = to bring toward where the speaker is (or will be)

So:

• Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças.
  = I’m here with the cake now and I want to take it to them (somewhere else).

If you’re already with the children and someone else is far away with the cake, you’d say:

• Traz este bolo para as crianças.
  = Bring this cake (here) to the children.

English often just says “bring”, but Portuguese forces you to pick levar (take) or trazer (bring) based on the reference point.

Why is it “este bolo” and not “esse bolo” or “aquele bolo”?

All three mean roughly “this/that cake,” but the difference is distance / mental distance:

• este bolo – this cake (near me, the speaker)
• esse bolo – that cake (near you, the listener, or just mentioned)
• aquele bolo – that cake (far from both of us, or more distant in time/importance)

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, people often use esse where grammar books would prefer este, so you’ll hear:

• Eu quero levar esse bolo para as crianças.

Grammatically, este is “correct” for something close to the speaker, but esse is extremely common in speech and informal writing.

Is it necessary to say “Eu”? Could I just say “Quero levar este bolo para as crianças”?

You can drop “Eu” and it’s completely natural:

• Quero levar este bolo para as crianças.

Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the verb ending (-o in quero) already tells us the subject is eu (I).

You typically keep the pronoun when you want to:

• Emphasize the subject: Eu quero levar…, não você.
• Contrast: Eu quero levar o bolo, ela quer levar os doces.

But in neutral sentences, leaving out Eu is very common.

Why is it “quero levar” and not something like “quero de levar” or “quero que eu leve”?

In Portuguese, many verbs of desire, intention, or planning are followed directly by an infinitive without a preposition, just like English “want to do”:

• querer + infinitive → quero levar (I want to take)
• precisar + infinitive → preciso levar (I need to take)
• poder + infinitive → posso levar (I can take)

So:

• Eu quero levar este bolo… = I want to take this cake…

“Quero de levar” is incorrect.
“Quero que eu leve este bolo…” is grammatically possible but sounds strange and over‑wordy; you’d more naturally say “Quero levar…” or “Quero que você leve…” (I want you to take…).

Could I say “Eu gostaria de levar este bolo para as crianças” instead of “Eu quero”? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can. The difference is politeness / tone:

• Eu quero levar este bolo…
  = I want to take this cake… (direct, neutral)

• Eu gostaria de levar este bolo…
  = I would like to take this cake… (more polite/softened)

Grammar differences:

• querer + infinitive → quero levar
• gostar + de + infinitive → gostaria de levar

In many everyday situations, quero is fine. In more formal or very polite contexts, gostaria de sounds softer.

Why is it “para as crianças” and not just “para crianças”? Do I always need the article “as”?

crianças is a plural feminine noun, so the article as is the feminine plural definite article: as crianças = the children.

• para as crianças = for the children (some specific children)
• para crianças = for children (in general, not specific)

So:

• Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças.
  = these particular kids (maybe the ones at the party, the ones we both know)

• Este programa é bom para crianças.
  = this program is good for children (children in general)

Just like English, choosing the article changes whether you’re talking about specific children or children in general.

Why is “crianças” treated as feminine if “children” could be boys and girls?

In Portuguese, every noun has a grammatical gender, which doesn’t always match real‑world gender.

• a criança / as crianças is grammatically feminine, even if you’re talking only about boys.
• Agreement is with the noun’s grammatical gender, not the actual children’s gender.

So you must say:

• as crianças, not os crianças
• essas crianças são inteligentes (feminine plural agreement)

If you specifically want to emphasize a group of boys, you’d typically use another word:

• os meninos, os garotos, os filhos, etc.

Could I use “para” and “a” interchangeably here, as in “levar este bolo às crianças”?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

1. Para as crianças (more common in speech)

   • Focus on destination / purpose:
     I want to take this cake to/for the children.

2. Às crianças = a + as crianças (with crasis accent)

   • More formal; often feels a bit more “bookish”.
   • Slightly stronger sense of to the children as an indirect object.

Examples:

• Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças. ✅ very natural, everyday Portuguese
• Eu quero levar este bolo às crianças. ✅ correct, but sounds more formal/literary

You cannot write “a as crianças”; it must contract to às when it’s a + as.

If “para as” can become “pras”, is “pras crianças” correct?

Yes, but it’s informal.

• para as crianças → pras crianças (spoken and informal writing)

Examples:

• Vou levar este bolo pras crianças.
  = Very natural in casual speech, texts, chats, etc.

In formal writing (essays, official emails, exams), prefer the full form:

• para as crianças

Can I change the word order, like “Eu quero este bolo levar para as crianças”?

That particular order sounds wrong in Portuguese. The normal word order is close to English:

• Subject + verb + (other verbs) + objects / complements

So natural patterns are:

• Eu quero levar este bolo para as crianças.
• Eu quero levar este bolo às crianças.

You can move some elements for emphasis, but not like in German:

• ❌ Eu quero este bolo levar para as crianças. (unnatural)
• ✅ Este bolo eu quero levar para as crianças. (emphasis on “this cake”)
• ✅ Para as crianças, eu quero levar este bolo. (emphasis on “to the children”)

Is there any difference between “para as crianças” and “para as crianças pequenas” in terms of word order?

The basic order is:

• para + article + noun + adjectives

So:

• para as crianças pequenas = for the small / young children
• para as crianças felizes = for the happy children

You normally don’t put the adjective before the noun here:

• ❌ para as pequenas crianças (possible but sounds very literary / poetic)
• ✅ para as crianças pequenas (normal speech)

How is “crianças” pronounced? The “ç” and “an” are confusing.

Break it down: cri-an-ças

• cri – like “kree” (but shorter), [kɾi]
• an – nasal sound, similar to the “an” in French “enfant”; you don’t fully pronounce a clear “n” at the end
• ças – the ç sounds like /s/, so it’s “sas”

So roughly: kree-AHN-sas, with nasal “ahn” in the middle.

Key points:

• ç is always pronounced like “s” in “see”, never like “k”.
• The “ã” is a nasal vowel; you slightly let air go through your nose and don’t fully close the syllable with an n.