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Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado para terminar o trabalho.

Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado para terminar o trabalho.
Whoever takes a break now comes back more focused to finish the work.
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Questions & Answers about Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado para terminar o trabalho.

What does quem mean here exactly? Is it who, whoever, or anyone who?

In this sentence, quem means whoever / anyone who, not just who in a direct question.

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora… ≈ Whoever takes a break now / Anyone who takes a break now…
  • It introduces an indefinite, general subject: we don’t know exactly who, it could be anyone.

So you should understand quem here as a kind of generic “whoever” rather than a specific “who?”.

What tense and mood is fizer, and why is it not faz or fazer?

Fizer is the future subjunctive of fazer.

  • Infinitive: fazer
  • Simple past (pretérito perfeito), 3rd person plural: fizeram
  • Future subjunctive stem: fizer-
  • Future subjunctive forms:
    • eu fizer
    • tu fizeres
    • ele/ela/você fizer
    • nós fizermos
    • eles/elas/vocês fizerem

So quem fizer literally = whoever will do / whoever does (in the future or in a hypothetical situation).

Why not faz?

  • Quem faz uma pausa agora = whoever usually takes a break now / in this situation (more factual or habitual).
  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora = whoever (may) take a break now (more conditional / hypothetical / rule-like).

Why not fazer?

  • After quem, you need a finite verb (with person/tense), not an infinitive.
  • quem fazer is ungrammatical.
Why is quem followed by a singular verb (fizer) if we’re talking about people in general?

In Portuguese, quem is grammatically singular, even if it can refer to more than one person in meaning.

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta…
    Grammatically, we treat quem as ele/ela (3rd person singular).
  • This is why you see fizer and volta, not fizerem or voltam.

Using plural agreement (quem fizerem, quem voltarem) is generally considered incorrect in standard Portuguese, although you may hear it in some informal speech.

So you keep the verb in the singular after quem.

Why is volta in the present tense if the coming back happens after the pause (in the future)?

Portuguese often uses the present indicative to talk about future events, especially when the future is:

  • seen as predictable or very likely, or
  • part of a general rule.

Here, the sentence is expressing a general rule or prediction:

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado…
    ≈ Whoever takes a break now will come back more focused…

You could also say:

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora voltará mais concentrado…
  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora vai voltar mais concentrado…

All three are correct. The present (volta) simply sounds a bit more direct and general, like a statement of fact.

Can we say Quem fizer uma pausa agora voltará mais concentrado… instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct. The meaning is almost the same, but there is a slight nuance:

  • volta (present):
    – sounds more colloquial and general, like a rule:
    – whoever takes a break now comes back more focused.

  • voltará (simple future):
    – sounds a bit more formal or emphatic;
    – highlights the future result:
    – whoever takes a break now will (then) come back more focused.

In everyday European Portuguese speech, volta is very natural and common.

Why is concentrado masculine singular? What if the person is female or if it’s plural?

Concentrado agrees grammatically with the subject of volta, which is quem.

  • Quem is 3rd person singular.
  • When gender is unknown or general, Portuguese normally defaults to the masculine singular.

So:

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado…
    = Whoever takes a break now comes back more focused (no gender specified).

If you are clearly talking about a specific woman, you’d adapt it:

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrada… (if it’s understood as “she”)

If you want a clearly plural and gender-marked version, you’d usually change the structure, for example:

  • As pessoas que fizerem uma pausa agora voltam mais concentradas para terminar o trabalho.
    (The people who take a break now come back more focused…)

But with quem, the standard neutral form is masculine singular.

What is the role of para terminar o trabalho? Is it purpose or result, and could we say para que termine o trabalho instead?

Para terminar o trabalho expresses purpose:

  • volta mais concentrado para terminar o trabalho
    = comes back more focused in order to finish the work / so (as) to finish the work.

Structure:

  • para + infinitive (terminar) is a very common and natural way to express purpose in Portuguese.

You can say:

  • … volta mais concentrado para que termine o trabalho.

This also expresses purpose, but:

  • para que + subjunctive (here: termine) is more formal / literary,
  • and it can sound a little heavier or more distant from everyday speech in this context.

In neutral, natural European Portuguese, para terminar o trabalho is the preferred version here.

Why is pausa used here? Could we use intervalo or descanso instead?

All three exist, but they have slightly different nuances:

  • pausa

    • A pause / short break in an activity.
    • Very common in speech and writing.
    • Focus: briefly stopping what you’re doing.

  • intervalo

    • Often a scheduled break (e.g. school break, break in a play or match).
    • fazer um intervalo is also possible here, sounding fine:
      • Quem fizer um intervalo agora…

  • descanso

    • Means rest (to relax, recover energy).
    • Focus more on resting, not just interrupting the activity.

In this sentence, pausa works well because it’s about pausing work for a bit. Intervalo could also be used without any problem. Descanso would slightly change the emphasis towards resting rather than just pausing.

Can agora appear in another position, like Quem agora fizer uma pausa or Quem fizer agora uma pausa?

Yes, adverbs like agora are relatively flexible in Portuguese, but some positions sound more natural.

All of these are grammatical, but differ in naturalness/emphasis:

  1. Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta…
    – Very natural; the default choice.
    – Focus: a pause, and that pause is now.

  2. Quem fizer agora uma pausa volta…
    – Also natural.
    – Slightly more focus on now (“if you now take a break”).

  3. Quem agora fizer uma pausa volta…
    – Grammatically possible, but sounds less natural in everyday speech, more formal or stylised.

In everyday European Portuguese, options 1 and 2 are the most common.

Could we say Quem faz uma pausa agora volta… instead of Quem fizer…? How does the meaning change?

Yes, Quem faz uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado… is also correct, but there is a nuance:

  • Quem faz… volta… (present indicative)

    • Sounds like a more general, habitual rule or a description of what normally happens.
    • Similar to English: Whoever takes a break now comes back more focused (as a general fact).

  • Quem fizer… volta… (future subjunctive + present)

    • Sounds a bit more conditional / rule-like, with a sense of if someone (should) take a break now, they will come back more focused.
    • Common in instructions, warnings, or predictions.

Both are acceptable; quem fizer is slightly more typical when you’re setting out a condition.

Can we add a pronoun, like Quem fizer uma pausa agora ele volta mais concentrado?

No, that is not correct in standard Portuguese.

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta…
    Here, quem is already the subject of fizer and volta.

Adding ele:

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora ele volta…

creates a kind of double subject (whoever takes a break now, he comes back…), which is considered incorrect or at least very clumsy.

So you should not repeat the subject with a pronoun after quem. Keep it simply:

  • Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado…
Is this sentence specifically European Portuguese, or would Brazilians say it the same way?

The sentence is perfectly natural in European Portuguese, and it is also fully understandable and acceptable in Brazilian Portuguese.

Possible differences:

  • A Brazilian speaker might also say:
    • Quem fizer uma pausa agora vai voltar mais concentrado…
      (using vai voltar a bit more often than voltará in speech)
  • But Quem fizer uma pausa agora volta mais concentrado… is fine in both varieties.

So the structure with quem + future subjunctive (fizer) and present (volta) is common to both European and Brazilian Portuguese.