Word
A mãe guardou a fralda e o babador na bolsa antes de sair com a bebê.
Meaning
The mother put the diaper and the bib in the purse before going out with the baby.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of A mãe guardou a fralda e o babador na bolsa antes de sair com a bebê.
com
with
e
and
na
in the
antes de
before
Questions & Answers about A mãe guardou a fralda e o babador na bolsa antes de sair com a bebê.
Why is guardou used here, and what tense is it?
Guardou is the preterite form of guardar, for ele/ela/você.
- guardar = to keep, store, put away
- guardou = she put away / she stored / she kept
In this sentence, it describes a completed action in the past: the mother put the diaper and bib in the bag.
This is very common in Brazilian Portuguese:
- Ela guardou as chaves. = She put away the keys.
- Ele guardou o dinheiro. = He put away the money.
Does guardou mean exactly put here?
Not exactly word-for-word, but it is a very natural choice.
In context, guardou suggests:
- putting something away
- storing something
- placing something somewhere for later use
So in this sentence, it works like put away or simply put in English.
A close alternative would be:
- A mãe colocou a fralda e o babador na bolsa...
But the nuance is slightly different:
- colocou = put/placed
- guardou = put away/stored
Why does Portuguese use a mãe, a fralda, o babador, , with so many articles?