A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio.

The fun ends when the teacher asks for silence.

Breakdown of A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio.

• quando: when
• o silêncio: the silence
• a professora: the teacher
• pedir: to ask
• acabar: to end
• a brincadeira: the play

Questions & Answers about A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio.

Why does the sentence start with A brincadeira and not just Brincadeira?

In European Portuguese, you normally use the definite article (o, a, os, as) before nouns, even more often than in English.

• A brincadeira = the playtime / the fun / the game (a specific situation, like the play that is going on now).
• Without the article (Brincadeira acaba…) sounds unnatural here and very incomplete.

So A brincadeira acaba… is the natural way to say The fun/playtime ends….

What exactly does brincadeira mean here?

Brincadeira comes from brincar (to play). It can mean:

• play / playing / playtime – children playing, having fun
• fun / joking around – adults joking, teasing
• joke / prank – depending on context

In this sentence, with a teacher and pede silêncio, it most likely means playtime or the noisy fun that the children are having, not a formal game with rules (that would more often be jogo).

Why is it acaba and not something like termina or finaliza?

All three verbs can mean to end / to finish, but:

• acabar is the most neutral, everyday choice:
  
  • A aula acaba às três. – The class ends at three.
• terminar is also common and quite similar to acabar, sometimes a bit more formal or neutral:
  
  • O filme termina às dez. – The film ends at ten.
• finalizar is more formal/technical (finalize, complete), used in admin, business, software, etc.

Here A brincadeira acaba… is very natural, almost idiomatic, especially with children: “Playtime is over…”

Why is it acaba (present tense) and not acabou (past) or vai acabar (future)?

The present simple in Portuguese is often used:

1. For general truths or habits (like in English):

   • A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio.
     = Playtime ends when the teacher asks for silence. (Whenever that happens.)

2. To talk about future, in time clauses with quando (like English: I’ll tell you when I see you → present after when):

   • A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pedir silêncio. (more formal)
   • A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio. (everyday, habitual)

So the present here describes a general rule: whenever the teacher asks for silence, the fun stops.

Why is it a professora and not o professor?

Portuguese nouns have grammatical gender:

• o professor – the (male) teacher
• a professora – the (female) teacher

Here, professora is feminine, so it takes the feminine article a.
The sentence is explicitly referring to a female teacher.

Why do we say a professora pede silêncio and not ela pede silêncio?

In Portuguese you don’t need subject pronouns as often as in English, because the verb ending already shows the person:

• pede clearly indicates ele/ela/você (he/she/you).

You can say Ela pede silêncio, but:

• A professora pede silêncio is clearer and more natural here; it names who she is.
• Often you introduce the person with a noun (a professora) and then later you might switch to ela if you continue talking about her.

So a professora pede is normal; ela pede would work but sounds like a follow‑up sentence, not an initial one.

Why is it pede silêncio and not pede por silêncio or pede para silêncio?

The verb pedir in Portuguese usually takes a direct object without a preposition when you ask for a thing:

• pedir silêncio – to ask for silence
• pedir ajuda – to ask for help
• pedir desculpa(s) – to say sorry / ask for forgiveness

You use a preposition when you say who you ask:

• pedir silêncio às crianças – to ask the children for silence
• pedir ajuda ao professor – to ask the teacher for help

So pede silêncio (no preposition) is the correct pattern:
pedir + [thing] (direct object)
pedir a + [person] (indirect object).

Could it also be pede o silêncio? What is the difference between silêncio and o silêncio?

Both are grammatically possible, but the nuance changes:

• pede silêncio – more natural here; means asks for silence in a general, uncountable sense.
• pede o silêncio – asks for the silence; this sounds more specific or more formal/literary, referring to some particular, already mentioned silence.

In normal classroom context, Portuguese speakers will almost always say pedir silêncio, without the article.

Why isn’t there a comma before quando in A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio?

In Portuguese, quando-clauses that are closely attached and short are often written without a comma:

• A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio.

You would usually add a comma:

• If the quando-clause comes first:
  
  • Quando a professora pede silêncio, a brincadeira acaba.
• Or if the sentence is long or you want a stronger pause.

So both are correct, but in this short, direct sentence, no comma is standard.

Is there any difference between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese in this sentence?

The sentence A brincadeira acaba quando a professora pede silêncio. is perfectly fine in both varieties.

Minor differences:

• Pronunciation:
  
  • EP: more closed unstressed vowels, final -a in professora and brincadeira tends to sound closer to -ɐ.
  • BP (most accents): clearer open a at the end, different rhythm.
• Lexicon/usage:
  
  • brincadeira, professora, pedir silêncio are fully standard in both.

Grammatically and lexically, there is no change needed between Portugal and Brazil here.

How do you pronounce brincadeira, professora, and silêncio in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciations (EP):

• brincadeira → breen-kuh-DAY-rɐ

  • brin – like breen
  • ca – like kuh
  • dei – like English day
  • ra – like rɐ (a very reduced final a)

• professora → pru-fə-SO-rɐ

  • pro – here often reduced, like pru or prə
  • fes – like fəs
  • so – stressed, like soh
  • ra – reduced rɐ

• silêncio → see-LEN-see-oo (but a bit more compact)

  • Stress on LEN
  • Final -cio sounds like see-oo merged.

These are approximations; actual EP has reduced vowels and a lighter, more relaxed rhythm than English.