Breakdown of O telemóvel voltou a funcionar.
o telemóvel
the mobile phone
voltar
to return
funcionar
to work, to function
Questions & Answers about O telemóvel voltou a funcionar.
Why is the verb voltar used here when the English translation says 'again'?
In Portuguese, the structure voltar a followed by an infinitive verb (like funcionar) is the most common way to say that an action is happening again. Instead of adding an extra adverb for 'again', Portuguese literally says the phone 'returned to working'.
Why use funcionar instead of trabalhar for 'working'?
Is the preposition a required between voltou and funcionar?
Yes! Whenever you use voltar with another verb to mean 'to do something again', you must link them with the preposition a. If you leave it out, the sentence becomes ungrammatical, as voltar on its own just means 'to return' to a physical place.
I often see the word celular used for a mobile phone online. Can I use that here?
Celular is the standard word in Brazilian Portuguese. Since you are learning European Portuguese, you should always use telemóvel. People in Portugal will understand celular, but it will clearly stand out as a Brazilian term.
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