Com o trânsito desta hora, não dá para passar na papelaria e na pastelaria.

Yes, com literally means with, but in this sentence it works more like given or because of.

• Com o trânsito desta hora... = With / given the traffic at this time...
• In natural English, you would usually translate the idea as Considering the traffic at this hour... or With the traffic at this time...

So com is introducing the circumstance that makes the next part difficult or impossible.

Here, trânsito means road traffic.

In everyday Portuguese, especially in a sentence like this, o trânsito usually refers to:

• the amount of cars on the road
• traffic conditions
• congestion

So Com o trânsito desta hora means With the traffic at this hour.

Depending on context, trânsito can also appear in other expressions, but for a learner, the most useful meaning is definitely traffic.

Desta is the contraction of de + esta, so desta hora literally means of this hour or more naturally at this time / at this hour.

In Portuguese, esta / esta hora often refers to the speaker’s current time frame, so:

• desta hora = at this hour / at this time
• dessa hora would usually feel more like at that hour / at that time
• nesta hora can exist, but it usually means at this moment / right now, and it would not sound as natural in this sentence

So o trânsito desta hora is a very natural way to say the traffic you get at this time of day.

Não dá para is a very common Portuguese expression. In this sentence, it means something like:

• it’s not possible to
• there’s no way to
• you can’t really
• it won’t work to

So:

• não dá para passar... = it’s not possible / practical to stop by...

This structure is extremely common in spoken Portuguese. You will hear things like:

• Não dá para ir hoje. = It’s not possible to go today.
• Dá para fazer amanhã? = Can it be done tomorrow?
• Não dá para estacionar aqui. = You can’t park here.

It often expresses practical impossibility, not necessarily absolute impossibility.

Because dar in this expression is being used impersonally.

In não dá para + infinitive, Portuguese does not need a clear subject like it in English. English says:

• It’s not possible to...

Portuguese simply says:

• Não dá para...

The it is not translated. This is very common in Portuguese with impersonal constructions.

Because after dar para, Portuguese normally uses an infinitive verb.

Structure:

• dar para + infinitive
• não dar para + infinitive

So:

• não dá para passar
• dá para fazer
• não dá para ir

In this sentence, passar does not mean simply to pass. It means something more like to drop by / to stop by / to go via.

Here passar em / passar na means to stop by, to drop in at, or to go via a place.

So:

• passar na papelaria = to stop by the stationery shop
• passar na pastelaria = to stop by the pastry shop / café

This is a very useful everyday meaning of passar in Portuguese. It does not mean that you are literally passing through the inside of the shop. It means making a quick visit.

Examples:

• Vou passar no supermercado. = I’m going to stop by the supermarket.
• Podes passar em minha casa? = Can you stop by my house?

Because na is the contraction of em + a.

So:

• em a papelaria → na papelaria
• em a pastelaria → na pastelaria

Since both papelaria and pastelaria are feminine singular nouns, na is used.

Useful comparison:

• no = em + o
• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

Examples:

• no supermercado
• na papelaria
• nas lojas

Portuguese usually repeats the article/preposition combination when two separate nouns are mentioned.

So the most natural version is:

• na papelaria e na pastelaria

This clearly shows that you mean two different places.

If you said na papelaria e pastelaria, it would sound incomplete or less natural, because the second noun normally also needs its own article.

This is similar to how Portuguese often repeats articles and prepositions more regularly than English does.

They look similar, but they mean very different things:

• papelaria = stationery shop, a shop that sells paper, notebooks, pens, office or school supplies
• pastelaria = pastry shop, and in Portugal often also a café where you can buy pastries, coffee, snacks, etc.

This pair can easily confuse English speakers because the words are so similar in form.

In Portugal, pastelaria is a very common everyday place, not just a shop for fancy cakes. It can be a normal café/bakery-type place.

Yes, it sounds very natural in European Portuguese.

A few reasons:

• pastelaria is especially common in Portugal for a pastry shop/café
• passar na... is very natural in European Portuguese
• Com o trânsito desta hora also sounds very idiomatic in Portugal

A Brazilian Portuguese speaker would understand it perfectly, but the overall phrasing feels very European Portuguese in tone.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning changes a bit.

• Não dá para passar... = It’s not really possible / practical to stop by...
• Não posso passar... = I can’t stop by...

Não dá para focuses more on the situation or circumstances. Não posso focuses more on the speaker’s personal ability, permission, or availability.

In this sentence, because the reason is traffic, não dá para is especially natural: the problem is the situation, not just the speaker’s choice.

Because Portuguese often places the reason or context first to frame the rest of the sentence.

So:

• Com o trânsito desta hora, não dá para...

This sounds natural because it sets up the explanation before giving the result.

It is similar to English patterns like:

• With traffic like this, ...
• Given the traffic at this hour, ...
• Because of the traffic at this time, ...

You could rephrase the sentence in other ways, but this word order is very idiomatic and conversational.