Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O autocarro adiantou‑se cinco minutos, por volta das oito. - The bus was five minutes early, around eight.

It means “was early/got ahead (of schedule).” The verb is adiantar‑se, a pronominal form used when something itself ends up happening earlier than expected (no direct object). The ‑se isn’t truly reflexive here; it’s a “middle”/pronominal marker that makes the verb intransitive. Without the se, adiantar is transitive and means “to bring something forward” (e.g., to reschedule).

Example contrasts:

Pronominal/intransitive: O autocarro adiantou‑se cinco minutos. = The bus was five minutes early.
Transitive: A empresa adiantou a reunião cinco minutos. = The company brought the meeting forward by five minutes.

What tense is adiantou‑se?

It’s the simple past (European Portuguese: pretérito perfeito simples), 3rd person singular. It narrates a completed event in the past: “It was early.”

Why is the pronoun attached with a hyphen (enclisis) after the verb?

In European Portuguese, in a straightforward affirmative main clause, clitic pronouns typically come after the verb with a hyphen: adiantou‑se. The hyphen simply attaches the clitic to the verb.

After triggers like negation (não), certain adverbs, or question/relative words, the pronoun usually goes before the verb (proclisis): O autocarro não se adiantou.

Can I drop se and say O autocarro adiantou cinco minutos?

Not with the same meaning. Without se, adiantar needs an object (the thing you move earlier): Adiantaram o concerto cinco minutos. With adiantar‑se, the subject itself happens earlier (no object): O autocarro adiantou‑se…

Do I need a preposition before cinco minutos (e.g., em)?

No. O autocarro adiantou‑se cinco minutos is perfectly idiomatic. You can also hear adiantou‑se em cinco minutos, which is acceptable, but omitting em is very common and natural.

How do I say the opposite (the bus was late)?

Use atrasar‑se:

O autocarro atrasou‑se cinco minutos. Other natural options:
O autocarro chegou cinco minutos mais tarde.
O autocarro chegou cinco minutos atrasado.

What does por volta das oito contribute here, and why das?

It means “around eight (o’clock),” giving an approximate time-of-day. It’s por volta de + a time with article. Hours take the feminine plural article (as), because horas is implied: as oito (horas). So de + as contracts to das: por volta das oito.

Can I say por volta de oito or às oito instead?

Por volta de oito (without the article) is not idiomatic; you need the article: por volta das oito.
Às oito (with the accent) means “at eight (exactly).” Use this if you don’t want the “around” idea: Chegou às oito.

Does por volta das oito refer to the arrival time or the scheduled time?

It gives the approximate time the event occurred (the arrival), not the deviation. So the sentence means: the bus arrived around eight and it was five minutes earlier than its schedule (e.g., scheduled for 8:05, arrived at ~8:00).

Can I move por volta das oito to the beginning? Do I need a comma?

Yes: Por volta das oito, o autocarro adiantou‑se cinco minutos. A comma is recommended when placing a time adverbial up front. You can also keep it at the end (as in the original) to sound like an afterthought; the comma there is natural but not strictly mandatory.

Why are hours feminine plural (e.g., as oito) in Portuguese?

Because the implied noun is horas (feminine plural). You can think of as oito (horas) = “the eight (hours).” Hence forms like às oito (a + as) and das oito (de + as).

How do I specify morning or evening?

Add a period of the day:

por volta das oito da manhã = around 8 a.m.
por volta das oito da noite = around 8 p.m. You can also use 24‑hour style in writing: por volta das 20h.

How should I pronounce the sentence in European Portuguese?

Approximate guide:

O autocarro: “oo aw-too-KA-hroo” (the double rr is a throaty sound; final o sounds like “oo”).
adiantou‑se: “ah-dyan-TOH-sə” (unstressed se sounds like a quick “sə”).
por volta das oito: “pohr VOL-tɐ daz OY-tu” (the s in das links as a “z” before the vowel in oito).

What are some natural alternatives to say the same thing?

Using “arrive earlier”: O autocarro chegou cinco minutos mais cedo, por volta das oito.
Using other “around” options common in Portugal: pelas oito, à volta das oito, cerca das oito.
Using a different verb: O autocarro antecipou‑se cinco minutos, por volta das oito (a bit more formal/technical).

Any dialect (Portugal vs Brazil) differences I should know?

Vocabulary: Portugal uses autocarro; Brazil uses ônibus.
Clitic placement in speech: European Portuguese favors enclisis in affirmative main clauses (adiantou‑se), while Brazilian Portuguese typically uses proclisis (O ônibus se adiantou). The meaning and structure otherwise match.