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Portuguese (Portugal)

Getting dental braces is a big adjustment.

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### Finding it Hard: *Custar a*

To express that someone is finding an action difficult to perform, use the verb **custar** followed by **a** and an **infinitive**.

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Literally "it costs [someone] to [do something]", this structure requires a shift in perspective. In English, you might say "I find it hard," making "I" the subject. In Portuguese, the action is the subject ("it is hard"), and the person experiencing the difficulty is the **indirect object**. 

Because the action is the subject, *custar* stays in the third-person singular, paired with an indirect object pronoun (like *me*, *te*, *lhe*, *nos*, or *lhes*).

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Notice how *custa* is paired with the indirect object pronoun *me* and the preposition *a* before the infinitive *trincar*.

The indirect object pronoun changes depending on who is finding the action difficult. *Custar* can also be used in different tenses, like the past (*custou*):

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Finding it hard to (custar a)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
the orthodontist	o ortodontista
the braces	o aparelho
The orthodontist recommends that I wear the braces.	O ortodontista recomenda que eu use o aparelho.
to be hard (for someone) to do	custar a
to bite (into something hard)	trincar
solid	sólido
I find it hard to bite solid food.	Custa-me a trincar comida sólida.
to rub	roçar
the cheek	a bochecha
painful	doloroso
The braces rub on the cheek; besides, it is painful.	O aparelho roça na bochecha; além disso, é doloroso.
the sore	a ferida
the gum	a gengiva
I never get sores on the gum nor on the cheek.	Nunca tenho feridas na gengiva nem na bochecha.
He found it hard to speak quietly because the braces were rubbing on the sore.	Custou-lhe a falar baixo porque o aparelho roçava na ferida.
Whether it is solid or soft, we find it hard to bite the bread.	Seja sólido seja mole, custa-nos a trincar o pão.
the smile	o sorriso
The girl was about to cry from her painful smile.	A rapariga estava prestes a chorar com o seu sorriso doloroso.
Did the orthodontist tell you that you find it hard to chew?	O ortodontista disse-te que te custa a mastigar?
My smile is beautiful, but I find it hard to laugh.	O meu sorriso é lindo, só que custa-me a rir.
My gum hurts a lot; in other words, I find it hard to eat.	A minha gengiva dói muito; por outras palavras, custa-me a comer.
to be worth it	valer a pena
The museum is worth visiting.	Vale a pena visitar o museu.
It wasn't worth arguing with him.	Não valeu a pena discutir com ele.
to have a knack for	ter jeito para
She has a knack for languages.	Ela tem jeito para línguas.
I have no knack at all for drawing.	Não tenho jeito nenhum para desenhar.
to be handy, to suit (dá-me jeito)	dar jeito
This timetable suits me very well.	Este horário dá-me muito jeito.
This big backpack is very handy on trips.	Esta mochila grande dá muito jeito nas viagens.

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