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Questions & Answers about O rapaz perdeu a senha e voltou ao atendimento à esquerda da entrada.
What does the word in bold mean here: senha? Is it “password” or a queue ticket?
- In Portugal, senha most commonly means the numbered ticket you take to wait your turn (bank, post office, clinic, etc.).
- For computer logins, the standard term in Portugal is palavra‑passe (you will also hear senha informally, influenced by Brazilian usage).
- Example: Tire uma senha e aguarde a sua vez.
Why is it perdeu a senha and not just “perdeu senha” or “perdeu sua senha”?
Portuguese likes definite articles with specific, known items even when English omits them. The context is a particular ticket the boy had, so a senha is natural. English “lost his ticket” maps well to perdeu a senha. Saying perdeu a sua senha is possible but not required.
Do I need to add a possessive, like a sua senha, to show it’s “his” ticket?
Not necessarily. Possession is often clear from context. If you need to be explicit (or to avoid ambiguity), you can say:
- a sua senha (could mean “your” or “his/her” depending on context in European Portuguese)
- a senha dele/dela to make “his/her” unambiguous
What exactly is ao in voltou ao atendimento?
ao is the contraction of the preposition a (“to/at”) + the masculine singular article o (“the”): a + o → ao. Since atendimento is masculine, you get ao atendimento. Related forms: a + a → à, a + os → aos, a + as → às.
Why is there a grave accent in à esquerda? What does à mean?
- à is the contraction a + a (preposition “to/at” + feminine article “the”), written with a grave accent.
- à esquerda means “to/on the left.” When specifying “left of something,” use à esquerda de.
- Common parallels: à direita (to the right), à noite (at night), às oito (at eight), à mesa (at the table).
Do I need the “de” after à esquerda? Why is it à esquerda da entrada?
Yes. When you say “to the left of X,” you use à esquerda de. With a feminine noun like entrada, de + a → da, hence à esquerda da entrada. With a masculine noun it would be do: à esquerda do elevador.
Why is it da entrada and not do entrada?
Because entrada is feminine. da is the contraction de + a. do is de + o and is used only before masculine nouns.
Why voltou ao atendimento and not voltou no atendimento or voltou para o atendimento?
- For motion back to a place, voltar typically takes a: voltar a algum lugar → voltou ao atendimento. Using no (em + o) would mean “returned in/at the service area” and is ungrammatical for a destination.
- voltar para is possible in many contexts, often with a nuance of returning to stay or for longer: voltou para casa. With service counters, voltou ao atendimento is the idiomatic choice.
What tense is perdeu? Why not tem perdido?
- perdeu is the simple past (pretérito perfeito), used for a single completed event: “he lost [it].”
- tem perdido (present perfect) in European Portuguese usually implies repeated or ongoing occurrences: Ele tem perdido a senha ultimamente = “He has been losing the ticket lately.” That does not fit a one‑off loss.
Could I use regressou or retornou instead of voltou?
- regressou works and sounds a bit more formal than voltou.
- retornou is understood but feels more formal or Brazilian. In everyday European Portuguese, voltou is the most natural choice.
Is atendimento the right word for “service desk/counter” in Portugal?
Yes. atendimento refers to customer service or the service area. Depending on context, you might also hear:
- balcão de atendimento (service counter)
- guiché (ticket/service window)
- serviço de atendimento / atendimento ao cliente (customer service department) Here, voltou ao atendimento is idiomatic shorthand for “returned to the service desk/area.”
Can I move à esquerda da entrada elsewhere in the sentence?
Yes, but keep it attached to the place it modifies:
- Standard: O rapaz perdeu a senha e voltou ao atendimento à esquerda da entrada.
- Clearer with a relative clause: … voltou ao atendimento que fica à esquerda da entrada. Avoid splitting it unnaturally, e.g., voltou à esquerda da entrada ao atendimento.
What’s the difference between rapaz, menino, miúdo, garoto, and moço in Portugal?
- rapaz: boy/young man (common for teens to young adults).
- menino / miúdo: child, little boy. miúdo is very common in Portugal.
- garoto: mainly Brazilian; uncommon in Portugal.
- moço: young man; also used to address service staff in some places (“waiter!”). Usage varies by region and register.
How do I pronounce tricky bits like ao, à, and senha in European Portuguese?
- ao ≈ “ow” in “now.”
- à ≈ short “ah” (as in “father”).
- senha: nh is one sound [ɲ], like “ny” in “canyon” → SEH‑nyah.
- perdeu: final eu is a diphthong, roughly “ehw” → pehr‑DEHW.
- atendimento: a‑ten‑dee‑MEN‑tu (final o tends to sound like a short “u”).