A zeladora pediu que a gente não fizesse muita bagunça no corredor durante a mudança.

In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a noun, even when English would not.

• a zeladora = the building caretaker / the janitor / the superintendent
• In English, we might say The caretaker asked...
• In Portuguese, leaving out a here would usually sound less natural.

This use of the article is much more frequent in Portuguese than in English.

Zeladora is the feminine form of zelador.

Depending on context, it can mean something like:

• caretaker
• building superintendent
• janitor
• property manager / live-in building staff member

In a sentence with corredor and mudança, it strongly suggests someone responsible for the building, especially in an apartment building or condominium.

Both pedir que and pedir para exist, but they are used differently.

In this sentence, pediu que is followed by a new clause with its own verb:

• pediu que a gente não fizesse...
• literally: asked that we not make...

This structure normally triggers the subjunctive.

A different structure would be:

• A zeladora pediu para a gente não fazer muita bagunça...

That version is also very common in Brazilian Portuguese and sounds natural too. It uses pedir para + infinitive.

So:

• pedir que + subjunctive
• pedir para + infinitive

Both can express a request.

Because pediu que calls for the imperfect subjunctive here.

The pattern is:

• past verb of requesting / wanting / recommending
• followed by que
• followed by a verb in the subjunctive

So:

• A zeladora pediu que...
• ...a gente não fizesse...

Why imperfect subjunctive specifically? Because the main verb pediu is in the past, and the requested action is seen as something not yet realized at that time.

Compare:

• Ela pede que a gente não faça bagunça.
  Present request → faça (present subjunctive)

• Ela pediu que a gente não fizesse bagunça.
  Past request → fizesse (imperfect subjunctive)

Fizesse comes from the verb fazer (to do / to make).

It is the imperfect subjunctive form.

A quick set of forms:

• fazer = infinitive
• faz = present
• fez = simple past
• faça = present subjunctive
• fizesse = imperfect subjunctive

In this sentence, fazer bagunça means to make a mess / to cause a disturbance / to be noisy and disorderly.

In Brazilian Portuguese, a gente is extremely common in everyday speech and often replaces nós.

Both can mean we, but:

• a gente = more common in conversation
• nós = more formal or more written, though still used in speech too

Important grammar point:

• a gente is treated grammatically as third person singular
• So you say: a gente não fizesse
• Not: a gente não fizéssemos

Examples:

• A gente vai = We go / We’re going
• A gente quer = We want
• A gente não fizesse = that we not do/make

Yes. A more formal or more explicitly grammatical version would be:

• A zeladora pediu que nós não fizéssemos muita bagunça no corredor durante a mudança.

Notice the verb changes too:

• a gente ... fizesse
• nós ... fizéssemos

So if the subject changes, the verb must match it.

In Portuguese, não normally goes directly before the verb it negates.

So:

• não fizesse = not do / not make

That is the standard position.

In this sentence, the request is negative:

• she asked that we not make a lot of mess/noise/disorder

So the negation naturally appears before the verb in the subordinate clause.

Bagunça is usually an uncountable noun in this kind of sentence. It can mean:

• mess
• disorder
• commotion
• noise / disturbance, depending on context

So muita bagunça means:

• a lot of mess
• too much noise/disorder
• a lot of commotion

Even though bagunça is singular, muita is correct because it modifies an uncountable noun, just like in English:

• much mess
• a lot of noise

Gender agreement matters:

• bagunça is feminine singular
• so: muita bagunça

No. That is an important point.

Bagunça can refer to:

1. physical mess

   • things scattered around

2. disorder / lack of organization

3. noise / rowdiness / commotion

In this sentence, because of no corredor durante a mudança, it probably includes both:

• not leaving things chaotic in the hallway
• not causing too much disturbance there

So the word is broader than just mess.

Because no is a contraction:

• em + o = no

So:

• no corredor = in the hallway / in the corridor

Other similar contractions:

• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

These contractions are extremely common and usually required.

Corredor usually means hallway, corridor, or passageway.

In a building context, no corredor means in the common passage area outside the apartments or rooms.

So in this sentence it is probably the shared hallway of the building.

Durante means during.

A mudança here means the move or the moving process.

So:

• durante a mudança = during the move

Important note: mudança can mean different things in Portuguese, such as:

• change
• move / relocation

In this context, because of the hallway and the caretaker, it clearly means moving house/apartment.

Portuguese often uses articles in places where English may or may not.

Here, durante a mudança is the normal way to say during the move.

Without the article, durante mudança, it would sound unnatural in standard usage.

It is a mix of fairly neutral structure and everyday Brazilian usage.

What makes it feel more conversational:

• a gente instead of nós

What makes it a bit more structured or careful:

• pediu que ... não fizesse, which uses the subjunctive correctly

A very everyday Brazilian version might be:

• A zeladora pediu pra gente não fazer muita bagunça no corredor durante a mudança.

That version is probably more common in casual spoken Portuguese.

The original sentence is perfectly natural, but slightly more grammatically marked because of the subjunctive construction.

Sometimes, yes, depending on tone and context.

Literally, pedir means to ask or to request. So pediu is most directly asked or requested.

But in English, if the caretaker has some authority, we might naturally translate it as:

• The caretaker told us not to make too much of a mess in the hallway during the move.

That can sound more natural in some contexts, even though the Portuguese verb itself is still pedir, not mandar or dizer.

So the exact English choice depends on tone more than pure grammar.