A professora pediu para sublinhares o segundo parágrafo do texto.

The teacher asked you to underline the second paragraph of the text.

Breakdown of A professora pediu para sublinhares o segundo parágrafo do texto.

• de: of
• para: to
• a professora: the teacher
• pedir: to ask
• o texto: the text
• sublinhar: to underline
• o parágrafo: the paragraph
• segundo: second

Questions & Answers about A professora pediu para sublinhares o segundo parágrafo do texto.

What is going on with the verb form in bold: sublinhares?

It’s the personal infinitive, a form Portuguese uses after prepositions (like para) to show who is supposed to do the action. Here, sublinhares means “for you (tu) to underline.” It marks the subject of the subordinate action as tu.

Personal infinitive of sublinhar:

• eu: sublinhar
• tu: sublinhares
• ele/ela/você: sublinhar
• nós: sublinharmos
• vocês/eles/elas: sublinharem (Forms with vós exist but are rarely used in modern speech.)

Could I say “A professora pediu que sublinhasses o segundo parágrafo do texto” instead?

Yes. That’s also correct in European Portuguese. It uses que + imperfect subjunctive (sublinhasse/sublinhasse…; for tu: sublinhasses). Both patterns are fine:

• pediu para sublinhares (para + personal infinitive) — very common, slightly more conversational
• pediu que sublinhasses (que + subjunctive) — equally correct, often felt a bit more formal/neutral

How do I know the sentence is addressing tu and not você?

Because of the ending -es in sublinhares, which is the personal infinitive for tu. If it were directed at você, you would normally see either:

• para você sublinhar (especially in Brazil), or
• in Portugal, a formal option with a 3rd-person subject like para o senhor/a senhora sublinhar.

Why is there no pronoun indicating who she asked? How can I make it explicit?

Context often makes it clear, but you can add an indirect object pronoun after the past-tense verb:

• A professora pediu-te para sublinhares... (she asked you) Other options:
• pediu-me (me), pediu-lhe (him/her), pediu-nos (us), pediu-vos (you all), pediu-lhes (them)

Can I drop the personal ending and say “A professora pediu para sublinhar ...”?

Be careful. In European Portuguese, pediu para sublinhar is typically understood as “she asked to underline (it herself),” because the subject of the infinitive defaults to the subject of the main verb. If you mean “she asked you to underline,” keep the personal infinitive (sublinhares) or use que + subjunctive.

How would the sentence change if she asked us (nós) or you all (vocês) to do it?

• Us (nós): A professora pediu-nos para sublinharmos o segundo parágrafo do texto.
• You all (vocês): A professora pediu-vos para sublinharem o segundo parágrafo do texto. You can also avoid clitics and use a prepositional phrase:
• A professora pediu a vocês para sublinharem... (common and clear)

What would be a typical Brazilian Portuguese version?

Two very natural BP options:

• A professora pediu para você sublinhar o segundo parágrafo do texto.
• A professora pediu que você sublinhasse o segundo parágrafo do texto. BP uses você widely and often avoids the personal infinitive with a marked “tu” ending.

Why is it “o segundo parágrafo” and not “segundo parágrafo” without the article?

Portuguese normally uses the definite article with ordinal numbers before a noun. So you say:

• o segundo parágrafo (the second paragraph) The ordinal agrees in gender and number with the noun:
• o segundo parágrafo, a segunda página, os segundos capítulos, as segundas partes.

Why is it do texto and not no texto?

• do texto = “of the text,” indicating the paragraph belongs to that text (part–whole).
• no texto = “in the text,” indicating location. Both can work in English, but in Portuguese, when identifying a part of a whole, de + o = do is the idiomatic choice: o segundo parágrafo do texto.
  For pure location you’d say, for instance: Há um erro no texto (There’s a mistake in the text).

What tense is pediu, and what are its key forms?

Pediu is the 3rd-person singular of the pretérito perfeito (simple past), indicating a completed past event.

• eu pedi
• tu pediste
• ele/ela pediu
• nós pedimos
• vocês/eles/elas pediram

Can I say “A professora pediu para que sublinhasses ...”?

It’s heard, but many style guides recommend not mixing para and que here. Prefer either:

• pediu para sublinhares (para + personal infinitive), or
• pediu que sublinhasses (que + subjunctive) Using both (para que) can sound redundant or overly heavy in this context.

Could I replace “o segundo parágrafo do texto” with a pronoun? Where does it go?

Yes. Two common European Portuguese options:

• Keep the personal infinitive and place the pronoun before it:
  A professora pediu para o sublinhares.
• Use the plain infinitive with enclisis (less specific about the subject):
  A professora pediu para sublinhá-lo.
  The first keeps the “you” marking clear; the second is grammatical but can feel more ambiguous about who does the action.

Why is para used with pedir here? Could I use a different preposition?

With pedir meaning “to ask (someone) to do something,” Portuguese uses:

• pedir a alguém para + infinitive: A professora pediu (a ti/te) para sublinhares...
• or pedir a alguém que + subjunctive: A professora pediu (a ti/te) que sublinhasses... Using just a before the verb (e.g., “pedir a sublinhar”) is not idiomatic; it must be para (with the infinitive) or que (with the subjunctive).

Any spelling or pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• parágrafo has an acute accent on the second “a” (pa-RÁ-gra-fo).
• sublinhar/sublinhares have lh, a palatal sound similar to the “lli” in “million” in some accents.
• do is the contraction of de + o; pronounce it as one word.
• In many EP accents, the final -r in pedir is weak or nearly silent.