Breakdown of Aqui dentro o sinal do telemóvel é fraco e as mensagens não chegam.
ser
to be
de
of
e
and
chegar
to arrive
não
not
aqui
here
a mensagem
the message
o telemóvel
the mobile phone
dentro
inside
o sinal
the signal
fraco
weak
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Questions & Answers about Aqui dentro o sinal do telemóvel é fraco e as mensagens não chegam.
What does Aqui dentro mean and how is it formed?
Aqui dentro literally means “inside here.” It’s formed by the adverb aqui (“here”) plus the adverb dentro (“inside”). Together they pinpoint that something is happening within the immediate space you’re in.
Why isn’t there a de after dentro (i.e. why not dentro de aqui)?
When you use aqui with dentro, you omit de. You say aqui dentro, not dentro de aqui. If you attach dentro to a noun, you use de: dentro do carro (“inside the car”), dentro da casa (“inside the house”).
Is a comma needed after Aqui dentro?
No comma is strictly required. Short adverbial phrases at the start of a sentence often go without a comma in everyday writing and speech. You might see Aqui dentro, o sinal… in more formal texts, but Aqui dentro o sinal… is perfectly normal.
Why is do used in o sinal do telemóvel?
Do is the contraction of de + o. Here it means “of the.” So o sinal do telemóvel = “the signal of the cell phone” (i.e. “the cell-phone signal”).
Why telemóvel instead of celular?
In European Portuguese, the standard word for a mobile phone is telemóvel. In Brazilian Portuguese you’d say celular. If you’re learning the Portugal variant, stick with telemóvel.
Why use fraco for a weak signal? Could I say sinal baixo?
Portuguese speakers describe poor signal strength as sinal fraco (“weak signal”). Baixo means “low,” but you wouldn’t say sinal baixo. You can say volume baixo (“low volume”), but for signal strength the idiomatic adjective is fraco.
Why are the verbs é and chegam in third person, and why is there no subject pronoun?
Portuguese typically drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the subject.
- é is third-person singular for o sinal (singular).
- chegam is third-person plural for as mensagens (plural).
You don’t need ele or elas before the verb.
What does chegar mean here? Why not receber?
In this context chegar means “to arrive” or “to come through.” When you say as mensagens não chegam, you’re saying “the messages don’t get through/arrive (at your phone).”
Receber means “to receive,” focusing on the receiving action, but native speakers often talk about messages “arriving” (chegar).
Why is there an article in as mensagens não chegam? Could it be just mensagens não chegam?
In European Portuguese it’s common to use the definite article with plural nouns in a general sense: as mensagens (“the messages”). Omitting the article isn’t ungrammatical, but including as sounds more natural when referring to messages in general.