Breakdown of Durante a época de exames, quase não saio de casa.
eu
I
de
of
a casa
the house
o exame
the exam
sair
to leave
durante
during
a época
the season
quase não
hardly
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Questions & Answers about Durante a época de exames, quase não saio de casa.
Why is durante used here, and how does it differ from em or no?
durante means “throughout” or “in the course of” a span of time, so it emphasizes that something happens over the entire exam period. em plus a time expression can work in simpler cases (e.g. em julho = “in July”), but em época de exames sounds less natural in Portugal. no is a contraction of em + o and would give no período de exames, but for “season” or “period” we usually say durante.
Why is there an article a before época in durante a época de exames?
In Portuguese most singular, concrete nouns take a definite article. época (“season/period”) is feminine, so it takes a. Omitting it (i.e. durante época de exames) sounds clipped and is not standard.
Could I say durante a época dos exames instead of de exames?
Yes—dos is the contraction of de + os (“of the”). Saying época dos exames refers more specifically to a particular set of exams (e.g. the June exams). época de exames is a general expression for exam season as a concept.
What does quase não mean, and how does it differ from não or raramente?
quase não literally means “almost not” and corresponds to English “hardly” or “barely.”
- não alone simply negates (“I don’t go out”).
- quase não adds that you very rarely go out (“I hardly ever leave the house”).
- raramente also means “rarely,” but quase não is more colloquial and conveys an even stronger sense of “almost never.”
Why is the verb saio in the present tense and not a past or future form?
In Portuguese, the present tense often expresses habitual or ongoing actions. Here, “I hardly ever leave home” describes a recurring behavior during exam season, so the simple present (saio) is appropriate.
Why is the subject pronoun eu omitted before saio?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language: verb endings already indicate the subject. saio clearly means first-person singular (“I leave”), so stating eu is unnecessary unless you want to add emphasis (Eu quase não saio de casa).
Why is the order quase não saio and not não quase saio?
In Portuguese negation, the particle não usually precedes the verb. When you add quase, you place it before não to modify the negation.
Correct: quase não saio (“I almost don’t go out”).
Incorrect: não quase saio.
What is the literal meaning of saio de casa, and why is there no article before casa?
Literally saio de casa means “I leave from home/house.”
When talking about one’s own home in a general sense, Portuguese often drops the article before casa. If you say saio da casa, that would mean “I leave from the (specific) house,” which changes the nuance. Here de casa just means “out of my home.”