Breakdown of Na televisão, uma cientista mostrou como desinfetar a cozinha de forma segura.
Questions & Answers about Na televisão, uma cientista mostrou como desinfetar a cozinha de forma segura.
Na is a contraction of em + a:
- em = in / on
- a = the (feminine singular definite article)
- em + a → na
So Na televisão literally means “in/on the television”, and idiomatically it is “on TV”.
You can’t normally say em televisão on its own in this sense; you almost always use the article: na televisão.
Both word orders are possible and correct:
Na televisão, uma cientista mostrou…
- Fronts Na televisão to set the scene first: On TV, (this happened).
- This is a common way to start a sentence in Portuguese.
Uma cientista mostrou na televisão como desinfetar…
- Starts with the subject uma cientista.
- na televisão now sounds a bit more like extra information about where she showed it.
The comma after Na televisão marks it as an introductory phrase. It’s a stylistic choice; putting the location first emphasizes the medium (TV) as context.
The noun cientista doesn’t change form for gender; it’s the article (and any adjectives) that show whether it’s male or female:
- um cientista = a (male) scientist
- uma cientista = a (female) scientist
Because the sentence says uma cientista, it clearly refers to a female scientist. If it were a man, you would write um cientista.
Mostrou is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) of mostrar (to show):
- ele/ela mostrou = he/she showed
In European Portuguese, the pretérito perfeito is the normal tense for a completed action in the past:
- Uma cientista mostrou… = A scientist showed… (finished event)
Alternatives like tinha mostrado (past perfect) or tem mostrado (present perfect) would change the meaning and are not appropriate for a single, finished TV segment.
In Portuguese, when you talk about “showing how to do something”, you commonly use:
- mostrar + como + infinitive
So:
- mostrou como desinfetar a cozinha
= showed how to disinfect the kitchen
Other structures mean something slightly different:
mostrou a desinfetar a cozinha
- Sounds odd and unidiomatic; mostrar a + infinitive is not the usual pattern for “show how to…”.
mostrou desinfetar a cozinha (without como)
- Unnatural in Portuguese; we expect como to introduce the method.
So como + infinitive is the natural way to express “how to do X”.
Yes, desinfetar is the infinitive (to disinfect).
In Portuguese, como + infinitive is directly parallel to English “how to + verb”:
- como desinfetar = how to disinfect
- como cozinhar = how to cook
- como poupar dinheiro = how to save money
So the structure mostrou como desinfetar corresponds very closely to “showed how to disinfect” in English.
Desinfetar here takes a direct object:
- desinfetar a cozinha = to disinfect the kitchen
You only make it reflexive (desinfetar-se) if the subject is disinfecting themselves:
- Ela desinfetou-se. = She disinfected herself.
In this sentence, the thing being disinfected is a cozinha (the kitchen), so the non‑reflexive form is correct: desinfetar a cozinha.
Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English, even when English would omit “the”.
- desinfetar a cozinha = literally disinfect the kitchen
- In context, this usually means “disinfect the kitchen (your own / the one we’re talking about)”.
Saying just desinfetar cozinha is generally wrong here; it sounds incomplete or like a headline fragment.
If you specifically wanted a kitchen (any kitchen), you’d say:
- desinfetar uma cozinha = disinfect a kitchen (not a general instruction, but one random kitchen)
In Portuguese, when talking about general instructions or typical situations, you often use the definite article alone and leave out the possessive:
- Desinfetar a cozinha
- Limpar o carro = clean the car
- Lavar as mãos = wash your hands
The context (a TV program showing home hygiene) makes it obvious that it means your kitchen / one’s kitchen, so a sua cozinha is usually unnecessary and would sound more specific and personal:
- a sua cozinha = your kitchen (emphasis on yours)
Literally:
- de forma = in a way / in a manner
- segura = safe (feminine form, agreeing with forma, which is feminine)
So de forma segura = “in a safe way / in a safe manner”, i.e. safely.
You could say seguramente, but in Portuguese that usually means:
- “surely / certainly / no doubt”,
not “safely” in everyday usage.
That’s why speakers prefer:
- de forma segura
- de maneira segura
- em segurança
to avoid the ambiguity of seguramente.
The pattern de forma + adjective is very common and idiomatic:
- de forma segura = in a safe way
- de forma clara = in a clear way
- de forma rápida = in a quick way
Here de introduces a manner or mode: a way of doing something.
Em forma segura is grammatically possible but sounds unusual in this meaning. Em forma is also a fixed expression meaning “in shape” (physically fit), which adds confusion.
So the natural choice for “in a safe way” is de forma segura or em segurança.
Yes:
- de forma segura
- de uma forma segura
Both are correct and mean “in a safe way”.
Differences:
- de forma segura is slightly more compact and is very common.
- de uma forma segura can sound a bit more explicit or emphatic, especially in speech: “in a( particular) safe way”.
In most contexts, they are interchangeable.
Possible natural variants in European Portuguese include:
Na televisão, uma cientista explicou como desinfetar a cozinha em segurança.
- explicou = explained
- em segurança = safely
Na televisão, uma cientista ensinou como desinfetar a cozinha de forma segura.
- ensinou = taught (a bit more instructional)
The original sentence is already perfectly normal and natural; these just show common alternative verbs (explicar, ensinar) and a synonym for the end (em segurança).