Quando a menina começou a gatinhar, chegou a abrir a gaveta onde estavam as fraldas.

In Portuguese, começar normally takes the preposition a before an infinitive.

So:

• começar a gatinhar = to start crawling
• começar a falar = to start speaking
• começar a chover = to start raining

For an English speaker, it helps to learn this as a fixed pattern:

• começar a + infinitive

Without a, the sentence would sound ungrammatical.

Gatinhar means to crawl, especially in the way a baby crawls.

It comes from gato (cat), so the image is of moving on all fours. In this sentence, it fits naturally because the subject is a menina.

Começou is the pretérito perfeito of começar. It is used because the sentence refers to a completed event in the past: the moment when the girl started crawling.

So this is not describing an ongoing background action, but a specific change or starting point.

• começou = started / began
• not começava, which would suggest a repeated or ongoing past situation

Here, Quando a menina começou a gatinhar means something like When the girl started crawling.

No. Here chegou a + infinitive is an idiomatic structure.

It often means:

• managed to
• ended up
• actually
• even

depending on context.

So:

• chegou a abrir a gaveta = she even managed to open the drawer / she actually got as far as opening the drawer

It adds emphasis. It suggests that this was a bit surprising, impressive, or further than you might expect.

Yes, it could, but the nuance would change.

• abriu a gaveta = she opened the drawer
• chegou a abrir a gaveta = she even managed to open the drawer / she actually opened the drawer

The version with chegou a gives extra emphasis, often suggesting surprise or a notable result.

So the original sentence is not just reporting the action; it is highlighting that the girl got far enough to do that.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So where English might say:

• the girl
• the drawer

Portuguese also says:

• a menina
• a gaveta

This is completely normal. In many cases, Portuguese prefers an article where English might omit one in other contexts too.

Onde means where, and it introduces a relative clause referring to a place.

So:

• a gaveta onde estavam as fraldas = the drawer where the diapers were

The word onde is used because gaveta is being treated as a place/location where something was.

A very similar alternative is:

• a gaveta em que estavam as fraldas

Both are correct. Onde is often the more natural everyday choice here.

Estavam is the imperfect of estar, and it is used here because it describes a state or situation in the background:

• the diapers were in the drawer

This is not a single completed event; it is the ongoing situation at that time.

So the contrast is:

• começou = a completed event, the moment she started crawling
• chegou a abrir = another completed event
• estavam = the background state, where the diapers were

That mix of tenses is very common in Portuguese.

Both are possible, but onde estavam as fraldas sounds very natural and standard.

Portuguese often allows the verb to come before the subject, especially in relative clauses and descriptive structures.

So:

• onde estavam as fraldas = very natural
• onde as fraldas estavam = also possible, but slightly more marked in rhythm or focus

In this sentence, the original order sounds smooth and idiomatic.

Because fraldas means diapers/nappies, and the sentence refers to the drawer containing them in general, not just one diaper.

So:

• a fralda = the diaper
• as fraldas = the diapers

Using the plural here is the most natural choice, because a drawer would normally contain several.

Again, Portuguese often uses the definite article more than English does.

So even when English might say just diapers, Portuguese often says as fraldas if the speaker has a specific set in mind, such as the diapers that were in that drawer.

Here, as fraldas sounds natural because the sentence refers to a known, identifiable group: the diapers kept in that drawer.

Use onde when you are talking about location.

Here that works perfectly:

• a gaveta onde estavam as fraldas = the drawer where the diapers were

A common learner point is that Portuguese distinguishes between:

• onde = where, in/at which place
• aonde = to where, indicating movement toward a place

Since the diapers were in the drawer, not moving to it, onde is correct.

Quando means when and introduces a time clause.

So:

• Quando a menina começou a gatinhar = When the girl started crawling

This clause sets the time for what happened next.

The structure is:

• Quando + past event, main clause

It is a very common way to connect events in Portuguese.

The comma separates the initial time clause from the main clause:

• Quando a menina começou a gatinhar,
• chegou a abrir a gaveta...

This is also common in English:

• When the girl started crawling, she even managed to open the drawer...

In Portuguese, when a subordinate clause comes first, a comma is often used to mark that boundary clearly.

The grammar is standard and works in both European and Brazilian Portuguese.

A vocabulary note, though:

• In Portugal, fraldas is the normal word for diapers/nappies
• Menina in Portugal can refer to a girl or a young child, depending on context

The structure chegar a + infinitive is also very natural in European Portuguese.

Here is a simple breakdown:

• Quando = when
• a menina = the girl
• começou = started / began
• a gatinhar = to crawl
• chegou a abrir = even managed to open / actually opened
• a gaveta = the drawer
• onde = where
• estavam = were
• as fraldas = the diapers

So the structure is:

1. Time clause: Quando a menina começou a gatinhar
2. Main clause: chegou a abrir a gaveta
3. Relative clause describing gaveta: onde estavam as fraldas

That is why the sentence feels long, but it is actually built from very common pieces.