Breakdown of Há demasiado tempo que a bisavó procurava a certidão.
a
to / at (direction)
o tempo
the time
procurar
to look for / to seek to, to try to
que
that (conjunction)
há
ago / for (a period up to now)
demasiado
too / too much (excessively)
a bisavó
the great-grandmother
a certidão
the certificate
Questions & Answers about Há demasiado tempo que a bisavó procurava a certidão.
Why is procurava in the imperfect tense if the English translation uses 'had been looking'?
The imperfect tense (procurava) is used to describe a continuous, ongoing background action in the past. When combined with the time duration focus structure Há [time] que, it expresses how long that action was going on, which naturally translates to 'had been looking' in English.
Could I change the word order and put the time expression at the end of the sentence?
Yes, you can say A bisavó procurava a certidão há demasiado tempo. Putting the time expression at the beginning with Há ... que is a focus structure used specifically to emphasize the duration ('For too long, the great-grandmother...'). Notice that when you move the time expression to the end, you drop the word que.
Why is it demasiado tempo and not demasiado de tempo?
The word demasiado (too much) acts as an adjective here, directly modifying the masculine singular noun tempo (time). Unlike in some English expressions like 'a lot of time', you do not use the preposition de (of) between demasiado and the noun it describes.
I see procurava and think of the English word 'procure'. Are they false friends?
Yes, they are false friends in everyday language. While 'procure' in English means to obtain or get something, procurar is the standard Portuguese verb for 'to look for' or 'to search'.
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