A lâmina é nova, mas ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa.

The blade is new, but he prefers not to shave in a hurry.

Breakdown of A lâmina é nova, mas ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa.

• ser: to be
• ele: he
• mas: but
• novo: new
• não: not
• preferir: to prefer
• depressa: quickly
• a lâmina: the blade
• fazer a barba: to shave

Questions & Answers about A lâmina é nova, mas ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa.

Why is it a lâmina instead of just lâmina?

Portuguese uses articles much more often than English.

Here, a lâmina means the blade or that blade we are talking about. In English, we often leave articles out in general statements, but Portuguese usually prefers to include them.

So:

• A lâmina é nova = The blade is new

Without the article, lâmina would sound less natural in this sentence.

What does lâmina mean here exactly?

Here, lâmina means blade, especially a razor blade.

It does not mean the whole razor. So if the sentence is about shaving, a lâmina is the cutting part.

That is why the sentence can mention:

• A lâmina é nova = the blade is new

Why is it nova and not novo?

Because nova has to agree with lâmina.

• lâmina is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular

Agreement:

• o livro novo = the new book
• a lâmina nova = the new blade

So:

• A lâmina é nova is correct
• A lâmina é novo is not correct

Why is ele used? Could Portuguese leave it out?

Yes. Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

So both of these are possible:

• Ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa
• Prefere não fazer a barba depressa

Why keep ele?

• for clarity
• for contrast
• because the speaker wants to make the subject explicit

In real Portuguese, especially in connected speech, leaving it out is very common.

How does prefere não fazer work grammatically?

This is a very common structure:

• preferir
  • infinitive
• preferir não
  • infinitive

So:

• prefere fazer = prefers to do
• prefere não fazer = prefers not to do

The não goes before the infinitive fazer, because it is the action doing/shaving that is being negated.

So:

• ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa = he prefers not to shave quickly

Could não go somewhere else, like ele não prefere fazer a barba depressa?

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa
  = he prefers not to shave quickly

• ele não prefere fazer a barba depressa
  = he does not prefer shaving quickly

The second version sounds more like a comparison or correction, for example:

• Ele não prefere fazer a barba depressa; prefere fazê-la com cuidado.

So in your sentence, prefere não fazer is the natural way to say that he chooses to avoid doing it quickly.

Why does Portuguese say fazer a barba? It literally looks like to do the beard.

Because fazer a barba is an idiomatic expression meaning to shave or to shave one’s beard/face.

This is very common in Portuguese, including Portugal.

Literally, yes, it looks like to do the beard, but learners should understand it as a fixed expression:

• fazer a barba = to shave

A similar idea exists in many languages: the literal words are not always the same as the natural English expression.

Why is there an article in fazer a barba?

Because the whole expression is normally fazer a barba, not just fazer barba.

The article a is part of the usual idiomatic pattern.

Compare:

• fazer a barba = to shave
• lavar as mãos = to wash one’s hands

Portuguese often uses a definite article where English uses a possessive:

• lavou as mãos = he washed his hands
• fez a barba = he shaved / did his beard

So a here is completely natural.

Could you say barbear-se instead of fazer a barba?

Yes. barbear-se also means to shave.

So these are similar:

• Ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa
• Ele prefere não se barbear depressa

The difference is mostly one of style and frequency:

• fazer a barba is very common and everyday
• barbear-se is also correct, but can sound a bit more formal or less conversational depending on context

For a learner, fazer a barba is an excellent phrase to know.

What does depressa mean, and is it the same as rapidamente?

Depressa means quickly or fast.

In this sentence:

• fazer a barba depressa = to shave quickly

It is very close to rapidamente.

Difference:

• depressa is very common in everyday speech
• rapidamente can sound a little more neutral or formal

In European Portuguese, depressa is a very natural choice.

Also, be careful:

• depressa has nothing to do with English depressed

Why is depressa placed at the end of the sentence?

Because that is a very normal position for an adverb in Portuguese.

The adverb depressa modifies the action fazer a barba, so putting it after the verb phrase is natural:

• fazer a barba depressa

This is similar to English:

• to shave quickly

Other positions are sometimes possible for emphasis, but the final position is the most straightforward and natural here.

What is the function of mas in this sentence?

Mas means but.

It connects two ideas that contrast with each other:

• A lâmina é nova
• mas ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa

The contrast is:

• the blade is new
• even so, he prefers not to shave quickly

So mas works just like English but in this sentence.

How do you pronounce lâmina, é, and depressa in European Portuguese?

A useful approximate guide is:

• lâmina → stress on the first syllable: LÂ-mi-na
• é → like eh
• depressa → roughly d'PRESS-a in European Portuguese

A few details:

• â shows the stressed vowel in lâmina
• é is an open stressed e
• in European Portuguese, unstressed vowels are often reduced, so depressa may sound more compressed than an English speaker expects

You do not need perfect phonetics right away, but the main stress pattern matters:

• LÂmina
• é
• dePRESSa

Is fazer a barba only used for shaving the face?

Usually, yes. Fazer a barba normally refers to shaving the beard / facial hair, so it is mainly associated with shaving the face.

If you want to talk about shaving other parts of the body, Portuguese would usually use different wording.

So in this sentence, the listener will normally understand:

• he prefers not to shave his face quickly

Which verb tenses are being used here?

The sentence uses:

• é = present tense of ser
• prefere = present tense of preferir
• fazer = infinitive

Breakdown:

• A lâmina é nova = present statement
• ele prefere = present tense
• não fazer a barba depressa = infinitive phrase after preferir

This is a very common Portuguese pattern:

• subject + present tense verb + infinitive phrase

For example:

• Ela gosta de ler.
• Eles querem sair.
• Ele prefere não fazer a barba depressa.