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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Anticipating the Action

When you need to express that something is on the verge of happening, you can use a simple verbal periphrasis. In Portuguese, one of the most common ways to say "to be about to" is by combining the verb **estar** with **para** and an infinitive.

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To form this, just conjugate **estar** to match the subject, add the preposition **para**, and leave the main action verb in its infinitive form.

{{item:1003942}}

### Prestes A

There is another, equally common way to describe an imminent action: **estar prestes a** (to be about to). It carries the exact same meaning as **estar para**, but can sometimes feel a bit more immediate.

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The structure works exactly the same way: conjugate **estar**, add the fixed phrase **prestes a**, and follow it with an infinitive verb.

{{item:1003944}}

Whether the expectant father is panicking or the doctor is finally arriving, you can use either of these expressions to build anticipation for whatever is about to happen next.

{{item:1003946}}

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Imminent action (estar prestes 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 childbirth	o parto
to be on the verge of	estar para
the maternity ward	a maternidade
The birth is about to happen in the maternity ward.	O parto está para acontecer na maternidade.
the midwife	a parteira
to be about to	estar prestes a
to give birth	dar à luz
The midwife says that she is about to give birth.	A parteira diz que ela está prestes a dar à luz.
impatient	impaciente
the contraction	a contração
Don't be impatient, because the contraction is about to start.	Não sejas impaciente, porque a contração está para começar.
to calm down	acalmar-se
When the father calms down, the baby is about to be born.	Quando o pai se acalma, o bebé está prestes a nascer.
The impatient man ends up asking the midwife for help.	O homem impaciente acaba por pedir ajuda à parteira.
The contraction doesn't stop and the husband is about to scream.	A contração não para e o marido está prestes a gritar.
the gown	a bata
The woman is about to put on the white gown.	A mulher está para vestir a bata branca.
The doctor is about to enter the maternity ward.	O médico está prestes a entrar na maternidade.
He doesn't calm down because the birth is about to start.	Ele não se acalma porque o parto está para começar.
The midwife gives me the gown when the baby is about to be born.	A parteira dá-me a bata quando o bebé está prestes a nascer.
The woman is about to give birth in the maternity ward.	A mulher está prestes a dar à luz na maternidade.