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Infelizmente, perdi o autocarro por um minuto.

Infelizmente, perdi o autocarro por um minuto.
Unfortunately, I missed the bus by one minute.
FromLesson 27inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Infelizmente, perdi o autocarro por um minuto.

um
a
por
by
o autocarro
the bus
o minuto
the minute
perder
to miss
infelizmente
unfortunately

Questions & Answers about Infelizmente, perdi o autocarro por um minuto.

What tense is perdi in, and how does it compare to English?
perdi is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) of perder. It expresses a completed action in the past—“I missed” or “I lost.” In European Portuguese, you use it for events that happened at a specific moment (here: the exact moment the bus left).
Why is there a definite article o before autocarro?
Portuguese normally uses definite articles before nouns when referring to something specific or familiar. Saying “perdi o autocarro” is equivalent to “I missed the bus” (i.e. that particular bus you were waiting for). In English you can drop “the” in some contexts (“missed bus”), but in Portuguese it stays.
What exactly does autocarro mean, and is there a Brazilian equivalent?
In Portugal, autocarro means “bus.” In Brazil, the common word is ônibus. Both refer to the same vehicle, but you’ll hear autocarro in Portugal and ônibus (or microônibus, coletivo) in Brazil.
What does por um minuto express here?
por um minuto indicates the margin by which you missed the bus—literally “by one minute.” In English you’d say “I missed the bus by one minute.” It’s not a duration you spent waiting but the gap that separated your arrival from the bus departure.
Why use por instead of há or faz in this sentence?
  • por shows the margin or difference (“by one minute”).
  • há/faz (meaning “ago”) indicate time elapsed since something happened (e.g. “Há um minuto que o autocarro saiu” = “The bus left one minute ago”). They don’t express the idea of “just missed by a minute.”
Can infelizmente appear elsewhere in the sentence?
Yes. infelizmente is a sentential adverb (“unfortunately”) and can go at the start (most common), between subject and verb (“Eu infelizmente perdi…”), or even after the verb (“Perdi infelizmente o autocarro”). Placement shifts emphasis but not meaning.
What’s the difference between em um minuto and por um minuto?
  • em um minuto = “within one minute” (duration). E.g. “Faço isto em um minuto.”
  • por um minuto = “by one minute” (margin by which something did/did not happen).
Why is minuto masculine here, and would you ever say uma minuto?
minuto is a masculine noun in Portuguese, so you pair it with um, not uma. Always say “por um minuto”, never “por uma minuto.”
Could you rephrase the sentence colloquially?

Sure. In casual speech you might hear:

  • “Fiquei a um minuto de apanhar o autocarro.” (I was one minute away from catching the bus.)
  • “Por pouco não apanhei o autocarro.” (I almost caught the bus / I missed it by just a bit.)
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