Breakdown of Ela ligou o aspirador sem ler o manual e depois não conseguiu desligar.
não
not
e
and
ler
to read
ela
she
Questions & Answers about Ela ligou o aspirador sem ler o manual e depois não conseguiu desligar.
What does ligou mean here? I thought ligar meant to call.
Yes, ligar can mean to call, but it also very commonly means to turn on a device.
So in this sentence:
- ligou o aspirador = turned on the vacuum cleaner
Portuguese often uses ligar for switching something on:
- ligar a TV = turn on the TV
- ligar o computador = turn on the computer
The opposite is desligar = to turn off.
Context tells you which meaning ligar has.
Why is it o aspirador? Is that short for vacuum cleaner?
Yes. Aspirador here means vacuum cleaner, especially when the context is clear.
In full, people may say:
- aspirador de pó = vacuum cleaner
But in everyday speech, aspirador is often enough.
So:
- ligou o aspirador = turned on the vacuum cleaner
Why do we say sem ler o manual and not something like sem leu o manual?