Breakdown of O autocarro circula na cidade de manhã.
Questions & Answers about O autocarro circula na cidade de manhã.
Circula is the 3rd person singular present of circular, meaning to run or to operate (a bus route). It emphasises that the service is in operation.
• Anda (from andar, “to go/ride”) sounds informal and odd for scheduled services.
• Passa (from passar, “to pass by”) highlights passing specific points, as in O autocarro passa pela estação.
So for “the bus runs in the city,” circula is the most natural choice.
Portuguese contracts em + a into na, so na cidade = in the city. You can also contract por + a into pela, giving circula pela cidade, which puts more emphasis on movement throughout or around the city.
• Na cidade focuses on location (“in the city”).
• Pela cidade focuses on motion through it (“around the city”).
It depends on the noun’s gender. Cidade is feminine, so you use a for “the” and contract em + a → na. If you have a masculine noun like bairro (“neighbourhood”), you contract em + o → no.
Example: O autocarro circula no bairro histórico (“The bus runs in the historic neighbourhood”).