Breakdown of Nós andamos a procurar motivação para melhorar a concentração.
nós
we
a
to / at (direction)
para
to / for
procurar
to look for / to seek to, to try to
melhorar
to improve
andar a
to have been (doing)
a motivação
the motivation
a concentração
the concentration
Questions & Answers about Nós andamos a procurar motivação para melhorar a concentração.
How do the words motivação and concentração relate to the verbs they come from?
Why does andamos a procurar translate to "have been looking" instead of "we walk to look"?
In European Portuguese, the verb andar (to walk) followed by a and an infinitive verb is a common way to express a continuous or repeated action that started recently and is still ongoing. So, andamos a procurar means "we have been looking" or "we are currently looking", rather than literally walking around to look.
Why is there an a before concentração when the English translation just says "concentration"?
In Portuguese, abstract nouns and general concepts like concentração (concentration) or motivação (motivation) usually require a definite article (o or a). English drops the article for general concepts, but Portuguese keeps it, so the sentence literally says "improve the concentration".
Why do we use para before melhorar?
Para is used here to show purpose or intention, translating perfectly to "in order to" in English. Whenever you take an action in order to achieve a specific goal, you use para followed by the infinitive verb (here, melhorar).
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