Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Subo pela escada rolante pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo. - I go up the escalator thinking about the interview and breathing deeply.

Subo pela escada rolante pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo.

I go up the escalator thinking about the interview and breathing deeply.

Breakdown of Subo pela escada rolante pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo.

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Questions & Answers about Subo pela escada rolante pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo.

Why is Subo used here instead of something like Estou a subir or Vou subir?

Subo is the simple present of subir (to go up), and in European Portuguese the simple present is very often used for actions happening right now, not only for habits.

So:

Subo pela escada rolante…
→ I’m going up the escalator… (right now)

In English we need the -ing form: I’m going up, but in European Portuguese the plain present subo is perfectly natural and often preferred to estou a subir in narration or simple description.

Estou a subir pela escada rolante… is also possible, but it slightly emphasises the action as ongoing. In storytelling, subo sounds more immediate and neutral.

What exactly does pela mean in pela escada rolante, and how is it formed?

Pela is a contraction of the preposition por + the feminine singular article a:

por + a = pela
por + o = pelo
por + as = pelas
por + os = pelos

Here:

por a escada rolante → pela escada rolante

In this sentence, por has the sense of “by / through / along”:

Subo pela escada rolante
→ I go up by/using/through the escalator.

It indicates the route or means by which the person goes up.

What is the difference between subo pela escada rolante, subo a escada rolante, and subo na escada rolante?

All are grammatical, but they don’t feel exactly the same:

Subo pela escada rolante
- Most natural in this context.
- Focuses on the route / means: I go up via the escalator.
Subo a escada rolante
- Literally: I go up the escalator.
- a here is a direct object marker, like climb the ladder / go up the stairs.
- Possible, but speakers more often say:
  - Subo as escadas (for “stairs”)
- With escada rolante, pela is more usual in everyday speech.
Subo na escada rolante
- Literally: I go up on the escalator.
- Sounds like you are on the escalator while you go up, focusing on location.
- It can be interpreted as boarding: Subo na escada rolante can also mean I step onto / get on the escalator.

In this sentence, pela is the most natural choice because we’re describing the means of going up.

Is escada rolante feminine or masculine, and how do I know?

Escada rolante is feminine:

a escada rolante – the escalator
pela escada rolante – by the escalator (from por + a escada)

You can see it from:

The article a and the contraction pela, which comes from por + a (feminine).
The base noun escada is feminine: a escada = the staircase / stairway.

Rolante is an adjective (moving, rolling) and doesn’t change the gender of the noun; it just agrees with it:

a escada rolante (feminine singular)
as escadas rolantes (feminine plural)

European Portuguese usually avoids the gerund. So is pensando and respirando natural here?

European Portuguese does use the gerund (-ando, -endo, -indo), but:

It uses it less than Brazilian Portuguese.
It’s common in written language, narration, and more formal or literary style.
In European Portuguese-speaking everyday speech, people might choose alternatives, but the gerund is not “wrong.”

Here, pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo is natural, especially in a narrative text. In more colloquial EP, you could hear:

Subo pela escada rolante a pensar na entrevista e a respirar fundo.
Subo pela escada rolante, enquanto penso na entrevista e respiro fundo.

So yes, pensando and respirando are fine and sound good in written narrative.

Could I say a pensar na entrevista e a respirar fundo instead of pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo?

Yes. That version is very typical of European Portuguese:

Subo pela escada rolante a pensar na entrevista e a respirar fundo.

Both versions are correct:

… pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo.
- Uses the gerund.
- Slightly more literary or written-narration feel.
… a pensar na entrevista e a respirar fundo.
- Uses a + infinitive, very common in European Portuguese for ongoing actions.

They mean essentially the same: going up the escalator, thinking about the interview and breathing deeply.

Why is there no eu before Subo? Can you say Eu subo pela escada rolante…?

Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun (eu, tu, ele, etc.) is often omitted when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Subo can only be eu (I), so eu is not needed.
Saying Eu subo pela escada rolante… is grammatically correct but usually adds a bit of emphasis on “I”:
- As in: I (as opposed to someone else) go up by the escalator…

In neutral narration, Subo pela escada rolante… without eu is more natural.

Why is it pensando na entrevista and not pensando sobre a entrevista or da entrevista?

In Portuguese, pensar with the meaning “to think about” normally uses the preposition em:

pensar em algo / alguém – to think about something / someone

Here we have:

pensar em a entrevista → pensar na entrevista
(em + a = na)

So:

pensando na entrevista → thinking about the interview

Other prepositions change or distort the meaning:

pensar sobre a entrevista – to think about / reflect on the interview can appear in more formal contexts, but everyday usage strongly prefers pensar em for “think about”.
pensar da entrevista – not natural; pensar de is used in patterns like o que pensas de…? (what do you think of…?), and even there, o que pensas da entrevista? is more limited than o que pensas da Maria?, etc.

So pensar em → na entrevista is the standard choice here.

What does respirando fundo literally mean? Could I say respirando profundamente instead?

Literally:

respirando – breathing
fundo – deep / deeply

So respirando fundo is “breathing deeply”.

Here, fundo is used adverbially to describe how the person is breathing, just like English “breathe deep(ly).”

You could say:

respirando profundamente – also correct, a bit more formal/neutral.

Nuance:

respirar fundo is very idiomatic, common in everyday speech and narration for “take a deep breath / breathe deeply.”
respirar profundamente sounds a bit more technical or formal (though still common).

In this sentence, respirando fundo is the most natural idiomatic choice.

Should there be a comma before pensando or respirando, like Subo pela escada rolante, pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo?

Both punctuation choices are possible:

Without comma (as given):
- Subo pela escada rolante pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo.
- The whole thing flows as one continuous action.
- Very natural, especially in less formal writing.
With comma:
- Subo pela escada rolante, pensando na entrevista e respirando fundo.
- The comma slightly highlights the circumstance in which the action happens, like an aside:
  I go up the escalator, (while) thinking about the interview and breathing deeply.

Neither is “wrong.” The version without the comma is slightly more compact and neutral; with the comma, the participial phrase is a bit more clearly separated from the main action.

Can I change the order and say Subo pela escada rolante, respirando fundo e pensando na entrevista?

Yes, you can change the order of the two gerund phrases:

Subo pela escada rolante, respirando fundo e pensando na entrevista.

This is grammatical and natural. The nuance is minimal; you just emphasize the actions in the new order:

Original: focus feels like thinking first, then breathing deeply.
Reordered: breathing deeply comes to the listener’s mind first, then thinking about the interview.

Portuguese word order here is flexible; both are fine.