Eu sinto mais segurança com a porta fechada.

I feel safer with the door closed.

Breakdown of Eu sinto mais segurança com a porta fechada.

• eu: I
• a porta: the door
• mais: more
• com: with
• sentir: to feel
• fechado: closed
• a segurança: the safety

Questions & Answers about Eu sinto mais segurança com a porta fechada.

Why do we use sinto instead of me sinto?

Portuguese sentir can be used transitively (with a direct object) or reflexively (with me). Here sinto takes segurança as a direct object: “I feel security.” If you say me sinto, you must follow with an adjective (e.g. me sinto seguro). So you choose non-reflexive sinto + noun or reflexive me sinto + adjective.

Why is it mais segurança and not mais seguro?

Mais segurança combines mais (a comparative determiner) with the noun segurança, meaning “more security.” If you prefer an adjective, you’d say me sinto mais seguro (“I feel safer”). The original focuses on the amount of security felt rather than directly stating that you are safer.

Could you explain the lack of an article before segurança?

After verbs of feeling, abstract nouns in Portuguese often appear without an article when used generally or comparatively. Sinto segurança sounds natural. Adding the definite article (a segurança) would make it too specific, as if you refer to a particular security arrangement.

Why do we say com a porta fechada and not com porta fechada?

Countable singular nouns in Portuguese normally require a definite article. A porta means “the door.” Omitting a here sounds ungrammatical. The phrase com a porta fechada correctly means “with the door closed.”

Why is fechada feminine and what form is it?

Fechada is the past participle of fechar used as an adjective. It must agree in gender and number with porta (feminine singular), so we use fechada, not fechado.

What role does com play in com a porta fechada?

Com means “with” here, introducing a circumstantial condition: “in the state of the door being closed.” It links the main clause to this adverbial phrase. Other prepositions (like de or para) would not convey the same idea.

Could you use a verb like está in the subordinate clause, e.g. com a porta está fechada?

No. The structure com + noun + past participle is a reduced clause that omits estar. If you include está, you must use a full subordinate clause: enquanto a porta está fechada or quando a porta está fechada.

How would using the gerund change the meaning, e.g. com a porta fechando?

The gerund fechando indicates an ongoing action (“while the door is closing”). That suggests the door is in the process of closing, not already closed. To express the state of being closed, you need the past participle fechada.