Breakdown of Ela às vezes exagera e fala como se tudo fosse um desastre.
Questions & Answers about Ela às vezes exagera e fala como se tudo fosse um desastre.
Às is a contraction of the preposition a + the feminine plural article as. The grave accent (à) shows that this contraction has happened.
Literally, às vezes means at the times, but as an expression it means sometimes.
If you wrote as vezes without the accent, it would literally mean the times (as a plain noun phrase), not the adverb sometimes. So:
- às vezes = sometimes (fixed expression)
- as vezes = the times (rare in this exact sentence and with a different meaning)
Yes. The most common options are:
- Ela às vezes exagera… (original: neutral, very natural)
- Às vezes ela exagera… (also very common; a tiny bit more emphasis on sometimes)
- Ela exagera às vezes… (possible, but less common; the adverb feels more “afterthought-like”)
All three are grammatically correct. In everyday European Portuguese, the first two are the most natural.
You can drop it. Portuguese is a “null-subject” language, so the verb ending already shows who the subject is:
- Ela às vezes exagera…
- Às vezes exagera…
Both mean She sometimes exaggerates….
Using ela can add clarity (if it’s not obvious who you’re talking about) or mild emphasis on she specifically. In casual conversation, especially in European Portuguese, speakers very often omit subject pronouns when context is clear.
Exagera is the 3rd person singular, present indicative of exagerar (to exaggerate):
- (eu) exagero – I exaggerate
- (tu) exageras – you exaggerate (informal singular, mostly PT-PT)
- (ele/ela) exagera – he/she exaggerates
- (nós) exageramos – we exaggerate
- (vocês) exageram – you (plural) exaggerate
- (eles/elas) exageram – they exaggerate
Here it works very similarly to English present simple: a general, habitual behaviour (she sometimes exaggerates).
Both are about language, but they’re used differently:
- falar = to speak, to talk (more general: speaking as an activity or in a certain way)
- dizer = to say, to tell (focus on the specific content of what is said)
In fala como se tudo fosse um desastre, the idea is she talks as if everything were a disaster – it’s about her style or tone of speaking, not one specific sentence she says.
If you wanted to focus on exact words, you might use dizer, e.g. Ela diz que tudo é um desastre (She says that everything is a disaster).
Como se literally is as if or as though.
Structure here:
- fala – she speaks
- como se – as if
- tudo fosse um desastre – everything were a disaster
In Portuguese, como se very often introduces the subjunctive, especially when what follows is unreal, hypothetical, or clearly not true. That’s why we get fosse (subjunctive) and not era (indicative) in this sentence.
Fosse is the imperfect subjunctive of ser, while era is the imperfect indicative.
- fosse = (that) it were
- era = it was
After como se, when you’re describing a situation that is not actually true or is clearly an exaggeration, standard Portuguese uses the subjunctive:
- Ela fala como se tudo fosse um desastre.
She speaks as if everything were a disaster.
(But we understand that everything is not literally a disaster.)
If you said como se tudo era um desastre, it would sound wrong or at least very odd in European Portuguese. The natural, correct choice here is fosse.
Fosse is the 1st and 3rd person singular of the imperfect subjunctive of ser:
- se eu fosse – if I were
- se tu fosses – if you were (informal singular)
- se ele/ela fosse – if he/she were
- se nós fôssemos – if we were
- se vocês fossem – if you (plural) were
- se eles/elas fossem – if they were
You’ll see this tense after conjunctions like se (if), como se (as if), embora (although – in some constructions), and in several other subordinate clauses expressing unreal, hypothetical, or uncertain conditions.
In this sentence, tudo is an indefinite pronoun meaning everything.
It is grammatically singular, which is why the verb fosse is in the 3rd person singular (not plural):
- Tudo fosse – everything were (singular agreement)
- Not tudo fossem
Desastre is a masculine noun in Portuguese, so it takes the masculine article um:
- um desastre – a disaster (masculine)
- o desastre – the disaster
Noun gender in Portuguese is mostly lexical (you just have to learn it with each noun), though many nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, and you know the gender from the article:
- o desastre (masc.)
- a parede – the wall (fem.)
- o leite – the milk (masc.)
In standard European Portuguese, no. That sounds incorrect or at least very unnatural.
With como se + a clearly unreal or hypothetical idea, the normal pattern is subjunctive:
- fala como se tudo fosse um desastre ✅ (natural, correct)
- fala como se tudo é um desastre ❌ (avoid)
English often uses the indicative after as if in informal speech, but Portuguese is stricter here.
Yes, the nuance changes:
- Ela às vezes exagera… – She sometimes exaggerates…
→ It’s occasional; not constant. - Ela exagera e fala como se tudo fosse um desastre.
→ Sounds more like a general character trait or frequent behaviour, closer to She exaggerates and talks as if everything were a disaster (habitually).
Grammatically both are fine; it’s just a difference in how often you’re implying this happens.
The difference is very small, but you might feel this:
- Ela às vezes exagera… – neutral; mild focus on Ela as the topic (she sometimes exaggerates).
- Às vezes ela exagera… – slightly more focus on Às vezes, as if you’re starting from Sometimes… and then introducing what happens.
In natural European Portuguese, both word orders are common and acceptable. The choice is more about style and rhythm than strict grammar.