Os bombeiros trabalharam toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal.

The firefighters worked all night to control the forest fire.

Breakdown of Os bombeiros trabalharam toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal.

• a noite: the night
• trabalhar: to work
• para: to
• todo: all
• controlar: to control
• o bombeiro: the firefighter
• o incêndio florestal: the forest fire

Questions & Answers about Os bombeiros trabalharam toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal.

What does “os” mean here, and why do we need it before “bombeiros”?

“Os” is the masculine plural definite article in Portuguese, equivalent to “the” in English.

• os bombeiros = the firefighters
• We use the definite article because we’re talking about a specific group of firefighters that the speaker has in mind (e.g. the ones dealing with that fire), not firefighters in general.
• In Portuguese, definite articles are used much more often than in English, especially before plural countable nouns like professions when they refer to specific people.

What is the difference between “bombeiro” and “bombeiros”, and how do you refer to female firefighters?

• bombeiro = firefighter (male or generic, singular)
• bombeiros = firefighters (masculine plural or mixed group)

For specifically female firefighters:

• bombeira = female firefighter (singular)
• bombeiras = female firefighters (plural)

If the group is mixed or you don’t know, you use the masculine plural:

• os bombeiros = “the firefighters” (could include women)

How do you pronounce “Os bombeiros trabalharam toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal” in European Portuguese?

Very roughly in English-like syllables (European Portuguese):

• Os – like oosh (the s sounds like “sh”/“zh” before b)
• bombeiros – bom-BAY-roosh
• trabalharam – tra-ba-LYAH-ruhn (final -am is a nasal sound, not “am”)
• toda a noite – TOH-dah ah NOYT(ih) (final -e often like a very short “uh”)
• para – PAH-rah (often reduced and very quick)
• controlar – kon-tro-LAR (strong ar at the end)
• o incêndio – oo een-SEN-dyu (the c with cedilla, “ç”, sounds like s)
• florestal – flo-resh-TAL (final -al with clear al)

Spoken naturally, many vowels are reduced and the sentence flows together quite fast compared to how it looks in writing.

What tense is “trabalharam”, and how is it formed?

“Trabalharam” is:

• tense: pretérito perfeito simples (simple past), used for completed actions in the past
• person/number: 3rd person plural (they worked)

It’s the simple past of the verb trabalhar (to work), a regular -ar verb. The full conjugation in this tense is:

• eu trabalhei – I worked
• tu trabalhaste – you worked (singular, informal)
• ele / ela / você trabalhou – he / she / you (formal) worked
• nós trabalhámos – we worked
• eles / elas / vocês trabalharam – they / you (plural) worked

So trabalhar → trabalharam follows the normal pattern -ar → -aram for “they” (eles/elas/vocês).

Could I use “trabalhavam” instead of “trabalharam” here? What would change?

Grammatically, yes, but the meaning changes.

• trabalharam (pretérito perfeito)
  → They worked all night (a completed action, seen as a whole event).
  This matches the idea that they worked all night with the aim of getting the fire under control.

• trabalhavam (pretérito imperfeito)
  → They were working / used to work all night
  This tense is used for ongoing, background, or habitual actions in the past.

So:

• Os bombeiros trabalharam toda a noite…
  = On that specific night, they worked (from start to finish).

• Naquela altura, os bombeiros trabalhavam toda a noite…
  = At that time, they used to work all night (as a routine).

In the original sentence, “trabalharam” is the most natural choice.

What does “toda a noite” literally mean, and how is it different from “todas as noites” or “toda noite”?

Literally:

• toda a noite = the whole night (duration, one specific night)

Differences:

• toda a noite (EP Portuguese)
  → all night / the whole night (one night, from evening to morning)
  Example: Trabalharam toda a noite.

• todas as noites
  → every night / each night (habitual action)
  Example: Trabalham todas as noites. = They work every night.

• toda noite (without a)
  → In Brazilian Portuguese, very common for every night.
  In European Portuguese, it sounds more Brazilian and is less standard; people will understand, but locals usually say todas as noites for every night.

You may also hear:

• a noite toda or a noite inteira = also the whole night (more colloquial).

Why is “para” used before “controlar” and not “por”?

In Portuguese:

• para + infinitive usually expresses purpose / goal (in order to).
  → para controlar o incêndio florestal = in order to control the forest fire

• por often indicates cause, reason, exchange, or movement through:

  • Fiz isto por ti. = I did this for you (on your behalf).
  • Andámos por Lisboa. = We walked around/through Lisbon.

So “trabalharam toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal” clearly means:

They worked all night in order to get the fire under control.

Using “por controlar” here would be unidiomatic and would not express purpose.

Why is it “para controlar” and not “para controlarem”? Are both correct?

Both forms are grammatically possible, but there is a nuance.

• para controlar o incêndio florestal
  → impersonal infinitive (to control), subject is understood from context (the firefighters).
  This is simple and completely correct.

• para controlarem o incêndio florestal
  → personal infinitive (infinitivo pessoal), explicitly marked for “they” (for them to control).
  It makes the subject very clear and can sound a bit more explicit or slightly more formal.

In this sentence, the subject of both verbs is the same (os bombeiros), so:

• Trabalharam toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal.
• Trabalharam toda a noite para controlarem o incêndio florestal.

Both are acceptable in European Portuguese. For learners, the “para + infinitive” form (para controlar) is usually the easiest and most common to start with.

What is the difference between “incêndio” and “fogo”? Could I say “fogo florestal”?

• fogo = fire in a general sense (flames, fire as an element, campfire, etc.)

  • Example: Acenderam o fogo. – They lit the fire.

• incêndio = a large, destructive, uncontrolled fire, often one that requires firefighters or causes damage.

  • Example: Houve um incêndio no edifício. – There was a fire in the building.

In the news in Portugal, for forest fires you’ll often see:

• incêndio florestal
• sometimes also fogo florestal

Both “incêndio florestal” and “fogo florestal” are used, but “incêndio florestal” sounds a bit more formal/technical, and fits very well in a sentence like this.

Why is “florestal” placed after “incêndio” and not before it?

In Portuguese, most adjectives normally come after the noun:

• incêndio florestal = literally fire forestal → forest fire
• carro vermelho = red car
• cidade grande = big city

Some short, very common adjectives can go before the noun (with small changes in nuance), like bom, mau, grande, pequeno, velho, novo, but “florestal” is a more descriptive, technical adjective, so it naturally goes after the noun.

So “incêndio florestal” is the normal, idiomatic order.

How does gender agreement work in “o incêndio florestal”?

• incêndio is a masculine noun.
  → That’s why the article is o (o incêndio = the fire).

• florestal is an adjective. Its form does not change between masculine and feminine:

  • o incêndio florestal
  • a área florestal

So in this phrase:

• o (masculine singular article)
• incêndio (masculine singular noun)
• florestal (adjective, same form for masculine/feminine)

All the words agree in number (singular), and the article agrees in gender with incêndio (masculine).

Could I say “Os bombeiros estiveram a trabalhar toda a noite para controlar o incêndio florestal” instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is correct European Portuguese and quite natural.

• trabalharam
  → simple past, focuses on the action as a completed event:
  They worked all night.

• estiveram a trabalhar
  → past progressive form in European Portuguese (estar a + infinitive), focuses more on the ongoing process:
  They were working all night.

In many contexts, both can be used with almost the same practical meaning here.
“Trabalharam toda a noite” is a bit more compact and neutral, so it’s often preferred in written narratives and news.