Setting the Scene
Glassblowing is a delicate, high-stakes art. It requires intense focus, and a single mistake can ruin a piece.
| The artisan is slowly blowing the bubble. | O artesão está lentamente a soprar a bolha. |
Because the margin for error is so small, glassblowers often experience near-misses. To describe these dramatic close calls, Portuguese uses a special trick with the word quase (almost).
The Emphatic "Quase que"
In Portuguese, you can add the word que immediately after quase.
| expletive que after 'quase' (emphatic particle) | que |
When used this way, que is a partícula de realce (an emphatic particle). It does not change the literal meaning of the sentence—both quase and quase que simply mean "almost"—but it adds stylistic flair. It highlights the shock, danger, or relief of a narrow escape.
| He almost shattered the incandescent glass! | Ele quase que estilhaçou o vidro incandescente! |
| The artisan almost dropped the rod. | O artesão quase que deixou cair a haste. |
Another Emphatic Tool: "É que"
This concept of a partícula de realce is quite common in Portuguese. Another frequent emphatic structure is é que. Placed immediately after a specific noun or pronoun, it puts intense focus on that word, similar to saying "is the one who" or "is what" in English.
| The artisan is the one who handles the blowtorch. | O artesão é que manuseia o maçarico. |
| The heat is what took his breath away. | O calor é que lhe tirou o fôlego. |
More Close Calls
You will hear quase que very frequently in spoken Portuguese whenever someone is recounting a dramatic story or a sudden accident. Notice how it elevates the emotion in these high-heat examples:
| I almost ran out of breath while blowing! | Eu quase que fiquei sem fôlego enquanto soprava! |
| He almost burned himself rotating the rod. | Ele quase que se queimou a rodar a haste. |