Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu não queria espantar-te, mas ouvi um ruído e decidi verificar se estavas bem. - I didn’t mean to startle you, but I heard a noise and decided to check if you were okay.

In European Portuguese, when an infinitive follows a conjugated verb (in this case, queria), the object pronoun is usually placed after the infinitive. Attaching te to espantar forms espantar-te, which correctly indicates “to scare you.”

What does espantar-te mean in this context?

Espantar-te means “to scare you” or “to frighten you.” The speaker is saying, “I didn't want to scare you,” using the infinitive attached to the pronoun to convey the intended action.

Why is the imperfect tense used in phrases like Eu não queria and se estavas bem instead of a simple past form?

The imperfect tense in Portuguese describes ongoing states or intentions in the past. Eu não queria implies that at that time, it was not my intention to scare you, while se estavas bem sets the scene to check on your state continuously during that period. This choice of tense adds nuance by portraying a background or ongoing condition rather than a single completed action.

What is the function of the conjunction mas in the sentence?

Mas translates to “but” in English and is used to introduce a contrasting idea. Although I did not intend to scare you, something unexpected—a noise—occurred, which made me decide to check if you were alright. It links the speaker’s initial intention with the subsequent action taken as a result of the interruption.

How is the clause verificar se estavas bem structured and what does it convey?

The clause verificar se estavas bem consists of the main verb verificar (“to check”) followed by the subordinate clause se estavas bem (“if you were okay”). Here, estavas is in the imperfect tense, reinforcing the idea of checking on your ongoing state of well-being at the time. This structure shows that the action of checking was connected to an evaluation of a past, continuous condition.