Breakdown of A rapariga curiosa fingiu que dormia.
a rapariga
the girl
dormir
to sleep
que
that (conjunction)
curioso
curious
Questions & Answers about A rapariga curiosa fingiu que dormia.
How does backshifting work in this sentence if nobody is actually speaking?
Even though she is not speaking out loud, faking an action works just like reported speech. Her internal direct thought or action is 'I am sleeping' (durmo - Present Indicative). Because the reporting verb (fingiu) happened in the past, we backshift her action one step into the past. The Present Indicative becomes the Pretérito Imperfeito (dormia).
Could I say estava a dormir instead of dormia here?
Yes, you can! estava a dormir is the past continuous, which strongly emphasizes that the action was ongoing at that exact moment. However, in European Portuguese, the Pretérito Imperfeito (dormia) on its own frequently translates to 'was sleeping'. Both options are natural and grammatically correct for this sentence.
Why is fingiu in the Pretérito Perfeito while dormia is in the Imperfeito?
This highlights the classic difference between the two past tenses. fingiu uses the Pretérito Perfeito because her decision to fake being asleep was a specific, completed event. On the other hand, the sleeping (dormia) was the ongoing background state she was trying to portray, which requires the Pretérito Imperfeito.
I have heard that rapariga is a bad word. Is it okay to use it?
In Portugal, rapariga is the standard, perfectly polite word for a girl or young woman. It is completely safe and common to use. You might have heard that in Brazil it is an offensive slang term, but since you are focusing on European Portuguese, you will see and hear it all the time without any negative meaning.