Log inSign up

Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita.

Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita.
This salary increase makes the team satisfied.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Portuguese grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Portuguese now

Questions & Answers about Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita.

What exactly does deixa mean in this sentence? I thought deixar was “to leave”.

Deixar does mean “to leave” in many contexts, but here it has a causative meaning: “to make / to leave (someone) in a certain state.”

So:

  • Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita.
    = This pay rise makes/leaves the team satisfied.

Other examples of this causative use:

  • Esta notícia deixou-me triste. – This news made/left me sad.
  • O elogio deixou-a muito contente. – The compliment made her very happy.

So in this sentence, deixa is “makes” or “leaves (in a satisfied state)”, not “leaves behind”.

Why is it deixa and not deixam? The team is many people, so shouldn’t it be plural?

The verb agrees with the grammatical subject, not with how many real people are involved.

The subject of the sentence is:

  • Este aumento de salário (this pay rise), which is singular.

So:

  • Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita. ✅
  • Este aumento de salário deixam a equipa satisfeita. ❌

Even though “team” is a group, the subject is the pay rise, one thing → 3rd person singular → deixa.

Why is it a equipa satisfeita and not o equipa satisfeito? Why is “equipa” feminine and why is “satisfeita” feminine too?

In European Portuguese, equipa (team) is a feminine noun. You can see that from:

  • the article a (feminine “the”), and
  • the final -a in equipa (a common feminine ending).

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. So:

  • a equipa satisfeita
    • equipa → feminine singular
    • satisfeita → feminine singular form of satisfeito

If the noun were masculine, you’d use:

  • o grupo satisfeito (the group satisfied)

If it were plural feminine:

  • as equipas satisfeitas (the teams satisfied)

The team is many people, but grammatically it’s one feminine noun, so the adjective is feminine singular: satisfeita.

Why is the adjective satisfeita placed after the noun (a equipa satisfeita) instead of before it?

In Portuguese, the default position for adjectives is after the noun:

  • a equipa satisfeita – the satisfied team
  • um livro interessante – an interesting book
  • uma pessoa simpática – a nice person

Adjectives can come before the noun, but that often adds emphasis or changes the nuance (more subjective, emotional, or idiomatic). For example:

  • um grande amigo – a great friend (emotional value)
  • um amigo grande – a big friend (physically large)

In this sentence, a equipa satisfeita is neutral and standard.
Satisfeita a equipa would sound very marked or literary, not normal everyday order.

Why do we say aumento de salário and not aumento do salário here? What’s the difference between de and do?

Both are possible, but they have different nuances:

  • aumento de salário

    • literally: increase of salary / pay rise
    • de here is generic: it describes the type of increase (a salary increase, as opposed to a price increase, etc.).
    • This is the normal way to say “pay rise” in Portuguese.

  • aumento do salário

    • literally: increase of the salary
    • do = de + o (of the), so it refers to a specific salary.
    • You’d use this more when talking about a particular person’s salary or a particular salary already mentioned.

In your sentence, we’re talking about the event “this pay rise” in general, so aumento de salário is the most natural, idiomatic choice.

How is Este aumento de salário different from Esse or Aquele aumento de salário?

These demonstratives express distance (physical, mental, or in the conversation). In European Portuguese:

  • Este aumento de salário

    • something close to the speaker (in time, space, or focus)
    • e.g. a pay rise that has just been decided, is on this contract, is the main topic now.

  • Esse aumento de salário

    • something close to the listener or already mentioned in the conversation
    • can also refer to something just talked about: that pay rise (you mentioned).

  • Aquele aumento de salário

    • something far from both speaker and listener (in space or time)
    • e.g. that pay rise we had 5 years ago.

In your sentence, Este suggests the pay rise is current or very relevant now.

Could I say Este aumento de salário faz a equipa satisfeita instead of deixa a equipa satisfeita?

No, faz a equipa satisfeita is not natural Portuguese.

You have these good options:

  • Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita. ✅
  • Este aumento de salário faz a equipa ficar satisfeita. ✅
  • Este aumento de salário faz com que a equipa fique satisfeita. ✅
  • Este aumento de salário satisfaz a equipa. ✅

Why?

  • fazer + adjectivo doesn’t work the same way as in English. You can’t directly say fazer alguém feliz/triste/etc. with just the adjective.
  • Instead, use:
    • deixar alguém + adjectivo → make/leave someone + adjective
    • fazer alguém ficar + adjectivo → make someone become + adjective
    • satisfazer alguém → satisfy someone

So stick with deixar satisfeito(a) or other structures shown above.

Why is there an article a before equipa? Could I just say deixa equipa satisfeita?

In standard Portuguese, you normally need the article before a singular, countable noun used in this way:

  • deixa a equipa satisfeita ✅
  • deixa equipa satisfeita ❌ (sounds wrong in normal speech/writing)

The article a here means “the”:

  • a equipa = the team (a specific, known team – probably your company’s team).

Omitting the article is possible in:

  • headlines: Aumento de salário deixa equipa satisfeita
  • very telegraphic styles (bullet points, labels, etc.)

But in normal full sentences, you say a equipa.

Does deixa here talk about the present, the future, or a general fact? Could it mean “will make the team satisfied”?

The present simple in Portuguese (deixa) can express:

  1. A general fact / tendency
    • This kind of pay rise (always) makes the team satisfied.
  2. Something that is happening now or is about to happen / just decided
    • If the pay rise has just been announced or is taking effect now, deixa can feel like English “will make / makes (right now)”.

Examples:

  • Este anúncio deixa os clientes confusos. – This announcement makes customers confused.
  • Esta mudança vai deixar a equipa satisfeita. – This change will make the team satisfied. (explicit future)

Context decides whether we read it more as “(generally) makes” or “(now/this time) makes/will make”. The sentence itself is compatible with both readings.

In English we say “satisfied with something”. Why is there no com here, like satisfeita com?

You have two slightly different structures in Portuguese:

  1. deixar alguém satisfeito(a)

    • no preposition needed
    • The cause is understood from context.
    • Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita.

  2. estar / ficar / sentir-se satisfeito(a) com algo

    • here you do use com (with).
    • A equipa está satisfeita com o aumento de salário. – The team is satisfied with the pay rise.
    • Fiquei satisfeito com o resultado. – I was satisfied with the result.

So in your sentence, the pattern is deixar + alguém + adjectivo → no com.
If you change the structure to estar/ficar satisfeito com, then you add com.

Is this sentence specifically European Portuguese? How would Brazilians say it?

Yes, this is European Portuguese, mainly because of equipa.

  • In Portugal:

    • equipa is the normal word for team (sports or work).
    • So: Este aumento de salário deixa a equipa satisfeita.

  • In Brazil:

    • For sports, time is more common than equipe.
    • For a work team, equipe is used (note the spelling with -e: equipe).
    • A natural Brazilian version would be:
      • Este aumento de salário deixa a equipe satisfeita.

The verb deixar used this way and the rest of the structure are fine in both varieties; the main visible difference is equipa (PT) vs equipe (BR).

How do you pronounce the main words in this sentence in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciation (European Portuguese, using rough English-like hints):

  • Este – ESH-t(ə)
  • aumento – ow-MEN-tu
  • de – very reduced, like d(ə)
  • salário – s(ə)-LAH-ryu (stress on LAH)
  • deixa – DAY-sh(ə)
  • a – like a short “uh”
  • equipa – eh-KEE-p(ə) (stress on KEE)
  • satisfeita – s(ə)-tish-FAY-t(ə) (stress on FAY)

Final -o/-a in European Portuguese often sound like a weak, almost mute vowel (-u/-ə), not a full “oh/ah”. The stressed syllables are:

  • auMENto
  • saLÁrio
  • eQUIpa
  • satisFEIta