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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Catching Yourself in the Act

Have you ever spaced out and suddenly realized you were humming or staring at the wall? In Portuguese, we use a specific phrase to describe catching yourself in the act of doing something subconsciously.

The core structure is: **dar** (conjugated) + **por** + *reflexive pronoun* + **a** + *infinitive verb*.

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### Matching the Pronouns

The pronoun following **por** must reflect the subject of the sentence. Use **mim** for *eu* and **nós** for *nós*. For third-person subjects (including *ele*, *ela*, *você*, and their plurals), use the pronoun **si**.

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### Catching Your Mind Wandering

You can also replace the pronoun with a noun to describe a specific part of you—like your mind—doing something. Remember to contract **por** with the noun's definite article (e.g., *por* + *a* = **pela**).

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### Lost in a Daydream

This is especially useful for describing when you're engrossed in an activity or acting out of habit.

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Sudden realization (dar por si 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
to suddenly realize	dar por si
himself / herself / themselves (dative)	si
to hum	cantarolar
Sometimes, he suddenly realizes he is humming a song.	Às vezes, ele dá por si a cantarolar uma canção.
the mind	a mente
to wander	vagar
I suddenly realized my mind was wandering during the meeting.	Dei pela minha mente a vagar durante a reunião.
absorbed	absorto
fixedly	fixamente
The engrossed girl suddenly realized she was looking fixedly at the screen.	A rapariga absorta deu por si a olhar fixamente para o ecrã.
the daydream	o devaneio
unnoticed	despercebido
The daydream goes unnoticed until we suddenly realize we are smiling.	O devaneio passa despercebido até darmos por nós a sorrir.
unconsciously	inconscientemente
the impulse	o impulso
Unconsciously, I suddenly realized I was yielding to the impulse.	Inconscientemente, dei por mim a ceder ao impulso.
I suggest that you read to not suddenly realize your mind is wandering.	Sugiro que leias para não dares pela tua mente a vagar.
Not only do I suddenly realize I am speaking, but also acting unconsciously.	Não só dou por mim a falar, mas também a agir inconscientemente.
We were so engrossed that we suddenly realized we were staring fixedly at the wall.	Estávamos tão absortos que demos por nós a olhar fixamente para a parede.
The daydream is going unnoticed.	O devaneio está a passar despercebido.
When my mind is wandering, I suddenly realize I am humming.	Quando a minha mente está a vagar, dou por mim a cantarolar.
He recommends that we avoid the impulse to not suddenly realize we are acting unconsciously.	Ele recomenda que evitemos o impulso para não darmos por nós a agir inconscientemente.