Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu estava a servir a sobremesa quando o alarme falso disparou e assustou as visitas. - I was serving dessert when the false alarm went off and scared the visitors.

In European Portuguese the natural way to show an ongoing past action is the periphrastic construction estar a + infinitive. So estava a servir = “I was serving.” The gerund form (servindo) is not normally used in Portugal to form the continuous; that usage is characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese.

What is the difference between estava a servir and disparou in terms of tenses? Why use the imperfect for one and the perfect for the other?

Estava is the pretérito imperfeito, which describes a background or ongoing action. Disparou is the pretérito perfeito, which denotes a specific action that occurred and finished. By using the imperfect for estava a servir, you set the scene; the perfeito disparou then marks the interrupting event (“the alarm went off”).

Why is there a definite article before sobremesa? Could you say servir sobremesa without a?

Portuguese typically uses the definite article with nouns when referring to a specific item or context, so a sobremesa means “the dessert” you were serving. Dropping the article—servir sobremesa—can sound vague or unidiomatic in most contexts, as if you’re talking about dessert in general rather than a particular one.

Why is it alarme falso instead of falso alarme?

In Portuguese adjectives usually follow the noun. Thus alarme falso is the standard order. Placing falso before alarme is possible for stylistic or poetic reasons but is less common in everyday language.

What does disparou mean here? Could you replace it with soou or tocou?

With alarms (or guns, detectors, etc.), disparar means “to go off” or “to trigger.” So o alarme falso disparou = “the false alarm went off.” You could say soou (“it sounded”) or tocou (“it rang”), but disparar emphasizes the automatic triggering of the device.

What does assustou as visitas mean? Can visitas be replaced by convidados, and is there any nuance?

Assustar means “to scare,” and as visitas translates as “the visitors” or “the guests.” So assustou as visitas = “it scared the guests.” You could use convidados (“invitees”), which implies a formal invitation, but visitas is more general and common when talking about people who came to your home.

Why isn’t there a comma before quando?

In Portuguese you don’t normally place a comma before the conjunction quando when it introduces an essential time clause. Commas are reserved for non-restrictive or parenthetical insertions or when you want a strong pause; here the flow is direct, so no comma is needed.

Why is the subject pronoun eu used explicitly? Can you omit it?

Portuguese is a pro-drop language, which means the verb ending already tells you the subject. You can safely drop eu because estava clearly marks first-person singular. The pronoun is only added for emphasis, contrast or clarity. Both estava a servir a sobremesa and eu estava a servir a sobremesa are correct.