Quando a sirene toca, dá-se passagem à ambulância.

When the siren sounds, people give way to the ambulance.

Breakdown of Quando a sirene toca, dá-se passagem à ambulância.

• quando: when
• a: to
• tocar: to sound
• a ambulância: the ambulance
• a sirene: the siren
• dar passagem: to give way

Questions & Answers about Quando a sirene toca, dá-se passagem à ambulância.

What does the se in dá-se do here?

It creates a general, rule-like statement. You can read it as either:

• a “short passive”: É dada passagem à ambulância. (Right of way is given to the ambulance.)
• an indefinite-subject sentence: As pessoas dão passagem à ambulância. (People give way to the ambulance.)

Functionally, it states what one/people generally do in that situation. Because passagem is singular, you get dá-se (not dão-se).

Why is there a hyphen in dá-se?

In European Portuguese, unstressed object pronouns like se attach to the verb with a hyphen when they come after it (enclisis): dá-se. If something forces the pronoun before the verb (proclisis), there is no hyphen: não se dá passagem (a negative word like não attracts the pronoun).

Could I say se dá passagem instead of dá-se passagem?

Only if there’s a proclisis trigger (e.g., negation, certain adverbs/pronouns/conjunctions) immediately governing that verb:

• Default (no trigger): dá-se passagem.
• With a trigger: não se dá passagem, nunca se dá passagem, quem vier se dá prioridade? → better: a quem vier, se dá prioridade (note how the trigger governs the verb).

What does the expression dar passagem (a) mean?

It’s an idiom meaning “to give way/yield (to).” Common near-synonyms:

• ceder passagem (a)
• dar prioridade (a) In traffic contexts, ceder passagem and dar prioridade are very common.

Why à ambulância and not a ambulância or para a ambulância?

• à is the contraction of the preposition a
  • the feminine article a: a + a = à (crasis). The verb phrase dar passagem (a) takes the preposition a for the beneficiary.
• para a ambulância would suggest “for the ambulance” (purpose/direction), not the standard complement of this idiom.
• For a masculine noun you’d use ao (a + o), e.g., dar passagem ao carro de polícia.

Why is it Quando a sirene toca (present), not Quando a sirene tocar (future)?

• Present + present expresses a general or habitual rule: Quando a sirene toca, dá-se… = “Whenever the siren sounds, one gives…”
• For a specific future event, Portuguese uses the future subjunctive in the quando-clause: Quando a sirene tocar, daremos passagem.

Is the comma after toca necessary?

Yes. When a subordinate clause (here, the quando-clause) comes first, you normally put a comma before the main clause: Quando a sirene toca, dá-se… If you reverse the order, the comma is usually omitted: Dá-se passagem à ambulância quando a sirene toca.

Can I drop the article and say Quando sirene toca?

No. In Portuguese, countable singular nouns usually take an article. Use a sirene (definite) or uma sirene (indefinite):

• Generic rule: Quando a sirene toca…
• If you truly mean “any siren”: Quando uma sirene toca… (less idiomatic for a general rule).

Could I write Quando toca a sirene?

Yes. Subject–verb inversion is possible and natural in such time clauses: Quando toca a sirene, dá-se passagem… and Quando a sirene toca, dá-se passagem… both work.

Why not dá-se a passagem à ambulância?

Here passagem is indefinite (“right of way” in general), so Portuguese typically omits the article. You’d use a passagem only if referring to a specific, previously mentioned right of way: a passagem de emergência de que falámos.

Does sirene mean “mermaid”?

No. In Portuguese, a “mermaid” is sereia. The noise-making device is sirene (not “sirena”—that’s Spanish).

Can I use a different verb than tocar for the siren?

Yes. soar is common: Quando a sirene soa, dá-se passagem… You’ll also hear disparar for alarms (o alarme dispara), but for sirens tocar and soar are the usual options.

How would I say it for plurals?

• Multiple sirens/ambulances, same rule: Quando as sirenes tocam, dá-se passagem às ambulâncias.
• If you change the noun that functions as the “passive subject,” the verb can agree: Dão-se prioridades às ambulâncias (but in practice you’ll more often keep singular fixed expressions like dar passagem/dar prioridade).

Any quick pronunciation tips (European Portuguese)?

• quando ≈ “KWAHN-doo” (final o is a weak “oo”)
• sirene ≈ “see-REH-nih” (final e is a very short, closed sound)
• toca ≈ “TOH-kah”
• dá-se ≈ “DAH-sɨ” (the final -se is a short “suh” with a very reduced vowel)
• passagem ≈ “puh-SAH-zh(aỹ)” (nasal ending)
• à ≈ “ah”
• ambulância ≈ “uhm-bu-LAN-syah” (the -ância has a nasal vowel)

What do the accent marks in dá, à, and ambulância indicate?

• dá (acute) marks stress and vowel quality on the a.
• à (grave) marks the contraction of the preposition a
  • article a (crasis).
• ambulância has â (circumflex: stressed central vowel quality) and ã (tilde: nasal vowel).