O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença para mim, por isso desligo toda a vibração.

The vibrating ringtone makes little difference to me, so I turn off all vibration.

Breakdown of O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença para mim, por isso desligo toda a vibração.

• para: for
• pouco: little
• por isso: so
• fazer: to make
• desligar: to turn off
• mim: me
• a diferença: the difference
• o toque: the ringtone
• vibratório: vibrating
• toda: all
• a vibração: the vibration

Questions & Answers about O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença para mim, por isso desligo toda a vibração.

Why is it faz and not fazem in faz pouca diferença?

The verb fazer (to make/do) has to agree in number with the subject:

• O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença.
  O toque vibratório = singular → faz (3rd person singular)

If the subject were plural, you’d use the plural form:

• Os toques vibratórios fazem pouca diferença.
  Os toques vibratórios = plural → fazem

So faz is singular because o toque vibratório is singular.

What exactly does the expression fazer diferença mean here?

Fazer diferença literally is to make a difference, and it’s used very similarly to English:

• Isto faz pouca diferença.
  = This makes little difference / This doesn’t really change much.

Other common uses:

• Isso faz muita diferença.
  = That makes a big difference.

• Não faz diferença para mim.
  = It doesn’t matter to me / It makes no difference to me.

In your sentence, faz pouca diferença para mim means it has hardly any impact or importance for the speaker.

Why is it pouca diferença and not pouco diferença?

In Portuguese, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun:

• diferença is feminine singular → a diferença
• Therefore, pouco must also be feminine singular: pouca.

So:

• pouca diferença = little difference
• pouco tempo = little time (masculine: o tempo)
• poucas diferenças = few differences (feminine plural)

If you said pouco diferença, it would be grammatically wrong because pouco is masculine, while diferença is feminine.

What is the nuance of faz pouca diferença compared with não faz muita diferença?

They are very close, but the focus is slightly different:

• faz pouca diferença
  Literal: it makes little difference.
  Focus: it has a small effect / almost no impact.

• não faz muita diferença
  Literal: it doesn’t make much difference.
  Focus: it is not a big deal; it’s not very significant.

In practice, both usually mean it doesn’t really matter much.
Faz pouca diferença can sound a bit more neutral/objective; não faz muita diferença can feel a bit more colloquial in everyday speech.

Why is it para mim and not para eu?

After a preposition like para, you normally use the tonic pronoun form (mim, ti, si, etc.), not the subject pronoun (eu, tu, ele…).

• para mim = for me
• para ti = for you (informal singular)
• para ele/ela = for him/her

Para eu can only be used if it directly precedes a verb in the infinitive:

• Para eu entender, tens de explicar melhor.
  (For me to understand, you have to explain better.)

But in your sentence, mim is not followed by a verb, so you must say:

• faz pouca diferença para mim
  = makes little difference to me.

Could I move para mim to the beginning, like Para mim, o toque vibratório faz pouca diferença?

Yes. That word order is perfectly correct and common:

• Para mim, o toque vibratório faz pouca diferença, por isso desligo toda a vibração.

Putting para mim at the beginning just emphasizes from my personal point of view, similar to English “For me, ...” / “In my case, ...”.

Both versions are natural in European Portuguese:

• O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença para mim...
• Para mim, o toque vibratório faz pouca diferença...

What is the difference between por isso and porque isso? Could I say porque isso desligo?

Por isso and porque isso are not interchangeable.

• por isso
  Literally: for that (reason) → so, therefore, hence
  It links a cause to a consequence:

  • Está a chover, por isso vou ficar em casa.
    It’s raining, so I’ll stay at home.

• porque isso
  Literally: because that. It sounds unnatural in Portuguese in this context and is rarely used this way. Normally you use just porque (because), followed by a full clause:

  • Vou ficar em casa porque está a chover.

So in your sentence, you should say:

• ..., por isso desligo toda a vibração.
  = so I turn off all vibration.

Porque isso desligo is not idiomatic here.

How does por isso compare with então or logo in European Portuguese?

All three can express a consequence, but with different tones:

• por isso – neutral, very common in both speech and writing.

  • Está muito frio, por isso leve um casaco.

• então – very common in speech, often more informal; can feel more conversational:

  • Está muito frio, então leva um casaco.

• logo – more formal / written, or used for logical conclusions:

  • Está muito frio, logo deves levar um casaco.

In your sentence, por isso is the most natural and neutral choice:

• ..., por isso desligo toda a vibração.

What does desligo mean exactly here, and why not apago or fecho?

The verb desligar is used for:

• turning something off (devices, functions, options)
• disconnecting (from power, from a network, etc.)

So in the context of a telemóvel (phone):

• desligar a vibração = turn off the vibration setting
• desligar o telemóvel = switch off the phone

Apagar usually means to put out / to erase, e.g.:

• apagar a luz (turn off the light) – common
• apagar um ficheiro (delete a file)
• but apagar a vibração is strange.

Fechar means to close:

• fechar a porta (close the door)
• fechar a aplicação (close the app)

So desligo toda a vibração is the normal, idiomatic way to say I turn off all vibration.

Why is it toda a vibração and not just toda vibração?

With todo/toda you have two different patterns:

1. todo(a) + a(s)/o(s) + noun
   = all the / the whole

   • toda a vibração = all the vibration
   • toda a água = all the water
   • todos os toques = all the ringtones

2. todo(a) + noun (without article)
   = every / any (in general)

   • todo aluno = every student (in general)
   • toda criança = every child

Here we are talking about all the vibration on my device, a specific set of vibrations, so you use pattern 1:

• desligo toda a vibração = I turn off all the vibration (on it).

What is the difference between toque vibratório and vibração in this sentence?

They refer to related but slightly different things:

• toque vibratório (vibratory ringtone / vibrate mode alert)
  The type of alert or mode — when the phone uses vibration instead of sound.

• vibração (vibration)
  The vibration function or the act of vibrating itself.

So the meaning is roughly:

• O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença para mim
  The vibrate alert mode doesn’t make much difference to me.

• por isso desligo toda a vibração.
  So I switch off all vibration (on the device).

Why is vibratório after toque, and not before, like vibratório toque?

In Portuguese, most adjectives come after the noun:

• o toque vibratório (the vibratory alert)
• um telemóvel novo (a new mobile phone)
• uma casa grande (a big house)

Putting vibratório before toque (vibratório toque) is not natural and would sound wrong in normal speech.

Some short, very common adjectives can appear before the noun (e.g. bom, mau, grande, pequeno) with slight changes in nuance, but vibratório is not one of them, so it goes after the noun.

Why is the present tense desligo used, when in English I would probably say I turn off as a general habit?

Portuguese simple present is used both for:

• actions happening right now
  
  • Agora desligo a vibração. = I’m turning off the vibration now.
• and habits / general tendencies
  
  • Normalmente desligo a vibração. = I usually turn off vibration.

In your sentence, it describes a general, repeated habit:

• ..., por isso desligo toda a vibração.
  = so I (always / usually) turn off all vibration.

This matches English I turn off all vibration when you mean it as a regular practice, not a one‑off action.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Would it sound natural in Portugal?

The sentence is neutral and would sound natural in Portugal in everyday speech:

• O toque vibratório faz pouca diferença para mim, por isso desligo toda a vibração.

It’s neither particularly formal nor particularly slangy. You could use it:

• in conversation (e.g. talking about your telemóvel settings),
• in a message or email,
• or in a more neutral written context.

If you wanted a slightly more conversational flavour, you might hear:

• O toque vibratório não me diz grande coisa, por isso desligo a vibração.
  (still perfectly European Portuguese, just a bit more colloquial in style).