A cadela magoou uma patinha no parque, por isso hoje não quis correr atrás da bola.

Cadela means female dog, while cão is male dog or sometimes a general word for dog.

In this sentence, a cadela is used because the animal is specifically female.

• o cão = the male dog / the dog
• a cadela = the female dog

The article changes too:

• o for masculine nouns
• a for feminine nouns

So a cadela = the female dog.

Patinha is the diminutive of pata.

• pata = paw
• patinha = little paw

The ending -inha often adds one of these ideas:

• small size
• affection
• tenderness
• a softer, cuter tone

So uma patinha literally means a little paw, but in natural English the translation may simply be a paw, depending on context.

In this sentence, patinha makes the tone sound a bit more affectionate.

In Portuguese, body parts are often expressed without a possessive like his, her, or its when the owner is already clear from the context.

So Portuguese often prefers:

• magoou uma patinha = injured a paw

rather than:

• magoou a sua patinha = injured her paw

The second version is possible, but it is less natural here unless you want to emphasize ownership.

This is different from English, which usually says her paw.

Magoou is the pretérito perfeito form of the verb magoar.

Here it means:

• hurt
• injured

So:

• A cadela magoou uma patinha = The dog hurt/injured a paw

Grammatically:

• magoar = to hurt / to injure
• magoou = he/she/it hurt / injured

It refers to a completed action in the past.

No is a contraction:

• em
  • o = no

So:

• no parque = in the park / at the park

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese.

Other examples:

• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

So:

• no parque
• na escola
• nos jardins
• nas ruas

Por isso means:

• therefore
• so
• for that reason
• that’s why

In this sentence, it connects cause and result:

• she injured her paw
• por isso = as a result
• today she did not want to chase the ball

So it works like so or that’s why in English.

This is a very common question, because both can translate as didn’t want in English, but they are not the same.

não quis

This is pretérito perfeito of querer.
It usually refers to a specific, completed moment or decision.

So here:

• hoje não quis correr = today she didn’t want to run

It sounds like a concrete situation today.

não queria

This is the imperfect.
It often describes an ongoing state, habit, or background feeling.

It could mean:

• she didn’t feel like running
• she wasn’t willing to run
• she used not to want to run

In this sentence, não quis fits better because it refers to a specific event today.

Quis is the eu/ele/ela/você form of the verb querer in the pretérito perfeito.

Relevant forms:

• eu quis = I wanted
• ele/ela quis = he/she wanted

So in the sentence:

• não quis = she did not want

This is an irregular verb, so the past form does not look like the infinitive very much.

Some useful forms of querer:

• quer = wants
• quis = wanted
• queria = wanted / used to want

Correr atrás de literally means to run after, and in this context it means to chase.

So:

• correr atrás da bola = to run after the ball / to chase the ball

This expression is very common in Portuguese.

Examples:

• O gato correu atrás do rato. = The cat ran after the mouse.
• A criança correu atrás da bola. = The child ran after the ball.

It can also be used more figuratively in other contexts, like pursuing something.

Da is a contraction of:

• de
  • a = da

The expression is correr atrás de something, so after atrás you need de.

Since bola is feminine and here it has the article a, they combine:

• de + a bola = da bola

So:

• correr atrás da bola

Other similar contractions:

• do = de + o
• dos = de + os
• das = de + as

Hoje means today, and Portuguese allows some flexibility with adverb placement.

In this sentence:

• por isso hoje não quis correr...

this sounds natural and clear.

You could also hear:

• Por isso, não quis correr atrás da bola hoje.
• Hoje, a cadela não quis correr atrás da bola.

The exact placement can slightly change the emphasis, but the meaning stays very similar.

Here, hoje helps connect the result to today’s situation.

The comma separates two related parts of the sentence:

1. A cadela magoou uma patinha no parque
2. por isso hoje não quis correr atrás da bola

This is similar to English punctuation before words like so, therefore, or for that reason.

The comma helps show that the second part is the consequence of the first part.

Not exactly, although they can overlap.

magoar

Often means:

• to hurt
• to injure
• to make sore

It can be physical or emotional:

• Magoei o braço. = I hurt my arm.
• Ela magoou-me com aquelas palavras. = She hurt me with those words.

ferir

Usually sounds more formal or more serious physically:

• to wound
• to injure

So in this dog-and-paw sentence, magoou sounds very natural.

In European Portuguese, some unstressed vowels are reduced, so the sentence may sound less fully pronounced than a learner expects from the spelling.

A rough pronunciation guide could be:

• A cadela ≈ uh kuh-DEH-luh
• magoou ≈ muh-goh-OO
• uma patinha ≈ OO-muh puh-TEE-nyuh
• no parque ≈ noo PAR-k(ə)
• por isso ≈ pur EE-su
• hoje ≈ OH-zh(ə)
• não quis ≈ nowng KEESH
• correr atrás da bola ≈ koo-RER uh-TRASH duh BOH-luh

A few European Portuguese features to notice:

• unstressed e often becomes a very reduced sound
• final vowels may sound weak
• s at the end of a syllable often sounds like sh
• r in correr is stronger than in English

This is only an approximation, but it can help you recognize the spoken form.