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Há demasiado barulho na rua.

Há demasiado barulho na rua.
There is too much noise in the street.
FromLesson 38inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Há demasiado barulho na rua.

What is the role of the word “Há” here, and why not use “tem” or “existe”?
In European Portuguese, há (from haver) is the standard impersonal form meaning “there is/there are.” In Portugal you don’t normally use tem with this meaning (that’s common in Brazil). Existe/existem can replace há but sound a bit more formal and must agree in number: Existe barulho / Existem carros.
Why is há written with an accent and an h? How do I pronounce it?
The h is silent; the accent shows stress and distinguishes há (from haver) from a (preposition/article). Pronounce it like a plain “ah.” The á is just a stressed “a.”
Does há always stay in the singular?
Yes. It’s impersonal and always 3rd-person singular, regardless of what follows: Há demasiadas pessoas, Há muitos carros. You never say “hão” in this sense.
How do I say this in other tenses?
  • Past (ongoing/background): Havia demasiado barulho na rua.
  • Past (completed event/occasion): Houve demasiado barulho na rua.
  • Near future: Vai haver demasiado barulho na rua.
  • Simple future (more formal): Haverá demasiado barulho na rua.
What nuance does demasiado add compared with muito?
Demasiado means “too much/too many” (more than desirable), while muito means “a lot/much/many” without implying excess. Compare: Há muito barulho (a lot) vs Há demasiado barulho (more than we can accept).
Does demasiado agree with the noun?
With nouns, yes: it behaves like an adjective/determiner and agrees in gender and number—demasiado barulho (m.sg.), demasiada gente (f.sg.), demasiados carros (m.pl.), demasiadas queixas (f.pl.). Before adjectives/adverbs it’s an invariable adverb: demasiado caro, demasiado cedo.
Can I use demais or a mais instead of demasiado?
In Portugal, after nouns a mais is very idiomatic: Há barulho a mais na rua. Demais is used mostly after adjectives/adverbs: É caro demais. Saying barulho demais is common in Brazil; in Portugal it’s understood but less natural than barulho a mais.
Why is there no article before barulho?
Because barulho is a mass noun here (noise in general), so we don’t mark it with an article: há barulho, há demasiado barulho. If you mean one specific noise, you can say Há um barulho na rua. The plural barulhos is used when you mean distinct noises: Ouvi barulhos.
Is barulho countable, and what’s its gender? Any useful collocations?
Barulho is masculine. It can be mass (usual) or countable (when you mean individual sounds). Common collocations: fazer barulho (to make noise), sem barulho (quietly), and a stronger informal word for lots of noise is barulheira; a more technical/formal term is ruído.
What does na rua literally mean, and how is it formed?
Na = em + a (in + the, feminine). Rua is feminine, so na rua means “in/on the street” (location). For masculine nouns it’s no (em + o): no parque; plurals are nas/nos: nas ruas, nos parques.
Can I start the sentence with the place: Na rua há demasiado barulho?
Yes. Both orders are fine: Há demasiado barulho na rua and Na rua há demasiado barulho. Fronting the place adds emphasis to the location.
Could I say Está muito barulho na rua or Faz muito barulho na rua?
Standard European Portuguese uses Há (muito/demasiado) barulho for existence. Está muito barulho is heard colloquially but is best avoided in careful speech/writing. Faz barulho means “it makes noise” and needs a subject: O trânsito faz muito barulho.
How do I make it negative or turn it into a question?
  • Negative: Não há demasiado barulho na rua.
  • Yes/no question (intonation does the work): Há demasiado barulho na rua?
    For a softer question, you can say Será que há demasiado barulho na rua?
Any pronunciation tips for tricky sounds?
  • Há: “ah.”
  • demasiado: de-ma-zi-A-do (stress on “a”), final -do is a soft “doo.”
  • barulho: ba-RU-lyo; lh = palatal “ly” (like Italian “gli”).
  • rua: initial r is the European Portuguese guttural [ʁ]; roughly “ROO-uh.”
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