Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O apontador desapareceu da secretária durante a aula. - The pencil sharpener disappeared from the desk during class.

In European Portuguese, apontador is usually a pencil sharpener. Another common word for this in Portugal is afiadeira. If you mean a presentation pointer, say ponteiro or ponteiro laser (not normally apontador).

Does secretária mean “desk” or “secretary”?

Both exist, and context decides:

secretária (with an accent) = desk or a female secretary.
secretaria (no accent) = a secretariat/administrative office. In this sentence, da secretária clearly means “from the desk.”

What is da here?

It’s the contraction of de + a = da (“from the”). Because secretária is feminine, we use a; with a masculine noun it would be do (de + o), e.g., do armário (“from the cupboard”).

Why is it desapareceu da secretária and not na or sobre?

The verb desaparecer typically uses de to indicate the point of origin: “disappeared from.”

na/sobre a secretária = “on the desk” (location).
If you want to emphasize “from on top of,” you can say de cima da secretária.

What does durante a aula add, and could I say na aula instead?

durante a aula = “during the class,” focusing on the time span.
na aula often means “in class/at class” (a more general setting).
Both can fit, but durante highlights when the disappearance happened.

Why O apontador and not Um apontador?

Portuguese uses the definite article o/a when the item is specific or known in the context. O apontador suggests a particular sharpener (e.g., the one everyone knows). Um apontador would introduce an unspecified one.

What tense is desapareceu?

It’s the simple past (pretérito perfeito) in European Portuguese: a completed event.

desaparecia (imperfect) = “was disappearing/used to disappear.”
tinha desaparecido (past perfect) = “had disappeared.”

Can I move the time phrase to the start?

Yes: Durante a aula, o apontador desapareceu da secretária. That’s a common way to set the time frame. You can also front other phrases for emphasis, but overdoing it can sound marked.

Is desaparecer transitive?

No, it’s intransitive (no direct object). You add a prepositional phrase for source/place: desaparecer de somewhere. You cannot say “desapareceu a secretária” to mean “disappeared from the desk.”

How do I pronounce the key words?

apontador: stress on the last syllable; the on is nasal (like French “bon”).
secretária: stress on tá (the accent marks it).
aula: the au is a diphthong like “ow” in “cow.”
The article o (unstressed) sounds like “u.”

Could da secretária mean “from the (female) secretary” here?

Grammatically it could in other contexts, but with desaparecer de plus a person it’s odd. With the vocabulary in this sentence, it’s naturally read as “from the desk.” The accent also steers you away from secretaria (office).

Can I drop the article in durante a aula?

No. Durante aula is ungrammatical. Use durante a aula (“during the class”), durante as aulas (“during classes in general”), or durante uma aula (“during a/one class”) depending on meaning.

How do the contractions change in the plural?

Feminine plural: de + as = das → das secretárias (“from the desks”).
Masculine plural: de + os = dos → dos armários (“from the cupboards”).
Verbs agree too: os apontadores desapareceram.

Are there regional differences I should know?

Yes. In Brazil, apontador is also “pencil sharpener,” but the piece of furniture is usually mesa or escrivaninha (not secretária). Brazilians often say sumiu for “disappeared,” whereas desapareceu is the standard choice in Portugal.

Is there a nuance difference between da secretária and de cima da secretária?

da secretária = “from the desk” (general).
de cima da secretária = “from the top of the desk” (explicitly from the surface). Use the latter if you want to stress where on the desk it was.