De manhã, a Ana põe a bebé no carrinho e dá-lhe a chupeta para ela não começar logo a berrar.

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a person’s name: a Ana, o Pedro, a Maria.

So a Ana still simply means Ana in English. The article is usually not translated.

• A Ana chegou. = Ana arrived.
• O João está em casa. = João is at home.

In very formal writing, the article is sometimes omitted more often, but in normal spoken Portuguese in Portugal, using it is very natural.

De manhã means in the morning.

It is a fixed time expression in Portuguese. You do not translate it word for word as of morning; you just learn it as the normal way to say in the morning.

Compare:

• de manhã = in the morning
• à tarde = in the afternoon
• à noite = at night / in the evening

So De manhã, a Ana... means In the morning, Ana...

Bebé is a noun whose form often stays the same, but the article can show the gender:

• o bebé = the baby boy / the baby / a male baby
• a bebé = the baby girl / a female baby

Here it is a bebé because the baby is being referred to as female. Later in the sentence, that is confirmed again by ela.

So the pattern is:

• o bebé / a bebé
• same noun form, different article

Põe is the 3rd person singular present of pôr, which means to put.

So:

• eu ponho = I put
• tu pões = you put
• ele/ela põe = he/she puts

In this sentence, a Ana põe a bebé no carrinho means Ana puts the baby in the stroller/pushchair.

It is an irregular verb, so it is worth memorising separately.

No is a contraction of em + o:

• em o → no

So:

• no carrinho = in the stroller / in the pushchair

Here, carrinho is masculine, so Portuguese uses o, which contracts with em to make no.

Useful comparison:

• no carro = in the car
• na casa = in the house (em + a = na)

Also, carrinho literally means something like little cart, but in this context it means a baby stroller / pushchair / pram depending on the variety of English you use.

Because lhe is an object pronoun attached to the verb.

In European Portuguese, in an affirmative main clause, object pronouns are very often placed after the verb, joined with a hyphen:

• dá-lhe = gives to him / gives to her
• disse-me = told me
• levou-o = took it / took him

So dá-lhe a chupeta means gives her the pacifier/dummy.

This after-the-verb position is called enclisis, and it is especially characteristic of European Portuguese.

Here, lhe means to her.

The verb dar often works like this:

• thing given = direct object
• person receiving = indirect object

So in:

dá-lhe a chupeta

• a chupeta = the thing being given
• lhe = to her

Literally: gives the pacifier to her

Why not a ela?

Because lhe is the normal unstressed pronoun for to him / to her.
A ela is possible, but it is more emphatic or contrastive.

For example:

• A Ana dá-lhe a chupeta. = neutral
• A Ana dá a chupeta a ela, não ao irmão. = to her, not to her brother

Because começar is normally followed by a + infinitive in Portuguese when it means to start doing something.

So:

• começar a chorar = to start crying
• começar a falar = to start speaking
• começar a berrar = to start screaming / bawling

You cannot normally say começar berrar.

So in the sentence:

• não começar logo a berrar = not start crying/screaming right away

Because ela is the subject of começar.

This part means:

• para ela não começar logo a berrar = so that she doesn’t start bawling right away

The important point is that the person who might start crying is the baby, not Ana.
By saying ela, Portuguese makes that clear.

If you removed ela, the sentence could sound more ambiguous, because the subject of the subordinate clause might be assumed to be the same as the main subject.

Also notice:

• não comes before começar because it negates that verb.
• After para, Portuguese often uses an infinitive clause like this.

A useful grammar note: this is an example where Portuguese can use the infinitive with an explicit subject. With ela, the form of the infinitive looks the same as the basic infinitive: começar.

Here, logo means right away, immediately, or straight away.

So:

• começar logo a berrar = start bawling immediately

This is a very common use of logo in Portuguese.

Be careful: logo does not always mean the same thing as English logo, of course, and depending on context it can also have other meanings, but here it clearly means right away.

Not exactly.

• chorar = to cry
• berrar = to yell, scream, bawl

When used about a baby, berrar suggests loud, intense crying. It is stronger and more vivid than chorar.

So the sentence is not just saying the baby might cry; it suggests the baby might start crying loudly.

That makes the sentence feel very natural and everyday: Ana gives the baby the pacifier so she does not immediately start bawling.

In this sentence, chupeta means pacifier or dummy.

In Portugal, chupeta is the normal everyday word for the object a baby sucks on.

So:

• dar a chupeta ao bebé = to give the baby the pacifier/dummy

If you are learning European Portuguese, chupeta is the word you should remember for this meaning.