Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa com as explicações. - Even when she has little time, the teacher is generous with explanations.

Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa com as explicações.

Even when she has little time, the teacher is generous with explanations.

Breakdown of Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa com as explicações.

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Questions & Answers about Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa com as explicações.

In Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, who is the subject of tem? Why is there no word like ela?

The subject is a professora.

Portuguese often drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows the person. Here:

tem = 3rd person singular of ter (present: ele/ela tem)
The next clause gives us the logical subject: a professora é generosa…

So the full version would be:

Mesmo quando ela tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa com as explicações.

The pronoun ela is usually omitted in natural Portuguese, especially in writing and in European Portuguese.

Why is the present tense (tem, é) used here? In English we might say “even when she doesn’t have much time, the teacher is generous…” as a kind of general habit.

Portuguese uses the simple present in a very similar way to English:

tem – she has (present, habitual)
é – she is (present, characteristic)

The sentence describes a general, habitual behaviour of the teacher, not a one-time event. So the simple present is exactly the right tense:

Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa…
= She is generally like this whenever she has little time.

You could use other tenses to change the meaning (for example, past behaviour), but for a general description, the present is standard.

Could this tem mean “there is” (like há), or must it mean “she has” here?

Here it must mean “she has”, referring to the teacher.

ter can sometimes mean “there is/are” in spoken Brazilian Portuguese (for example, tem muita gente aqui).
In European Portuguese, that use is much less standard; há is preferred for “there is/are”.

Given the context:

Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa…

the only natural reading in European Portuguese is:

Mesmo quando (ela) tem pouco tempo…
Even when (she) has little time…

What exactly does mesmo quando mean? How is it different from just quando?

quando on its own = when
mesmo quando = even when

So mesmo here adds the idea of concession / contrast:

Quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa…
= When she has little time, she is generous… (neutral)
Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa…
= Even when she has little time, she is generous… (surprising / in spite of that)

It emphasises that having little time would normally be a reason not to be generous, but she still is.

Why is it pouco tempo and not something with pequeno? What is the difference?

In Portuguese:

pouco = little / not much (quantity)
pequeno = small (size)

Time is treated as a quantity, so you use pouco:

pouco tempo = little time / not much time ✅
tempo pequeno = small time ❌ (unnatural / wrong)

Other examples:

pouco dinheiro = little money
pouca paciência = little patience

pequeno is for things that can be physically small:

um livro pequeno = a small book
uma sala pequena = a small room

Why is it a professora and not uma professora? What is the nuance of the article here?

a professora = the teacher (a specific teacher the speaker and listener know)
uma professora = a teacher (one of possibly many, not specified)

In the sentence:

…a professora é generosa…

we are clearly talking about a particular teacher, probably already known in the conversation (for example, your teacher, or this teacher at school). That is why the definite article a is used.

If you said:

Uma professora é generosa com as explicações.

it would sound more like “a (certain / any) teacher is generous…”, which is less natural unless you then go on to specify who she is.

Why is it professora and generosa (with -a) and not professor / generoso?

Portuguese adjectives and many nouns show grammatical gender:

professor = male teacher
professora = female teacher

Adjectives must agree in gender (and number) with the noun:

o professor é generoso (masculine singular)
a professora é generosa (feminine singular)

So because we are talking about a female teacher (a professora), the adjective is also feminine: generosa.

Why is the preposition com used in generosa com as explicações? Could we use another preposition?

ser generoso com algo/alguém is the normal pattern:

generosa com as explicações = generous with (her) explanations
generoso com o dinheiro = generous with money
generoso com os alunos = generous with the students

You could sometimes see other structures (with a slightly different nuance), like:

generosa nas explicações = generous in (the way she gives) explanations
generosa ao explicar = generous when explaining

But generosa com as explicações is the most direct and common way to say generous with (her) explanations.

Why is it as explicações (plural with article)? Could we just say explicações or uma explicação?

Here are the options and their nuances:

as explicações = the explanations (all the explanations she gives, in general)
– General, habitual behaviour: she gives explanations often and generously.
explicações (without article) – could be possible in some contexts, but here it would sound less natural; with abstract/general plural nouns, the definite article is often used in Portuguese.
uma explicação = an explanation (a single one)
– That would change the meaning to focusing on one explanation, not her general way of explaining.

So as explicações fits best because we’re talking about her overall teaching style and generosity with explanations in general.

In English we say “generous with her explanations”. Why is there no possessive like suas explicações in Portuguese?

Portuguese often omits possessive pronouns when the owner is obvious from context.

Here, we already know we are talking about a professora. So as explicações will naturally be understood as her explanations.

a professora é generosa com as explicações
= the teacher is generous with (her) explanations

You can say:

a professora é generosa com as suas explicações

but it sounds heavier and is usually unnecessary unless you need to contrast or emphasize whose explanations they are (for example, as suas explicações, não as de outro professor).

Can I move mesmo quando tem pouco tempo to the middle or end of the sentence?

Yes. Portuguese word order is quite flexible for clauses like this. All of these are grammatically correct, with small differences in emphasis:

Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, a professora é generosa com as explicações.
– Most neutral; the condition is given first.
A professora, mesmo quando tem pouco tempo, é generosa com as explicações.
– Extra emphasis that even in that specific situation, she is generous.
A professora é generosa com as explicações, mesmo quando tem pouco tempo.
– Focuses first on the fact that she is generous, then adds even when… as a reinforcing detail.

All three are natural in European Portuguese.

Could we say Mesmo que tenha pouco tempo instead of Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo? What would change?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

Mesmo quando tem pouco tempo…
= Even when she has little time…
→ talks about real, actual situations that occur (whenever that happens).
Mesmo que tenha pouco tempo…
= Even if she has little time…
→ more hypothetical / conditional (even in the case that she has little time).

Both are grammatically correct, but:

For a habitual, real behaviour, mesmo quando tem is more natural.
For a hypothetical situation (for example, making plans, talking about what she would be like), mesmo que tenha (with subjunctive tenha) is more typical.