Temos de dar a volta à praça para evitar o trânsito.

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Breakdown of Temos de dar a volta à praça para evitar o trânsito.

• ter de: to have to
• evitar: to avoid
• o trânsito: the traffic

Questions & Answers about Temos de dar a volta à praça para evitar o trânsito.

Why is it temos de and not temos que?

Both can mean we have to, but ter de + infinitive is especially common and standard in European Portuguese.

So:

• Temos de dar a volta... = We have to go around...
• Temos que dar a volta... is also possible, but ter de is often the safer choice for Portugal Portuguese learners.

If you want to sound natural in European Portuguese, learning ter de + infinitive is a very good habit.

What does dar a volta mean here?

Here, dar a volta means to go around, to make a detour, or to take the long way round.

Literally, it is something like to give the turn/round, but you should learn it as a fixed expression.

In this sentence:

• dar a volta à praça = go around the square

This expression can also appear in other contexts, for example:

• dar a volta ao quarteirão = go around the block
• dar a volta = turn around / go around / make a detour, depending on context

Why is there a in dar a volta?