Breakdown of Olha para o cronómetro, temos de escapar!
para
to / for
ter de
to have to
o
him/it (m)
olhar
to look
o cronómetro
the timer
escapar
to escape
Questions & Answers about Olha para o cronómetro, temos de escapar!
Why is it Olha and not Olhe or Olhas?
Olha is the informal affirmative command (imperative) for tu. You form it by dropping the final S from the present tense olhas. If you were speaking formally to a você, you would use Olhe.
Why do we say olha para o cronómetro instead of just olha o cronómetro?
In Portuguese, the verb olhar usually takes the preposition para when you are actively looking at a specific target or in a specific direction. While English uses at, Portuguese essentially says look towards.
Could I say temos que escapar instead of temos de escapar?
If I wanted to say we have to escape him using the pronoun lhe, where would it go in this verbal complex?
With the verbal complex temos de plus an infinitive, European Portuguese gives you a choice. Because the preposition de connects the verbs, the clitic pronoun can go either before or after the infinitive. You could say temos de lhe escapar or temos de escapar-lhe.
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