Breakdown of Ele deu por si a olhar para a malha que se desgastou durante a lavagem.
ele
he
a
to / at (direction)
para
to / for
olhar
to look
se
himself / herself / themselves
durante
during
que
who / which / that (relative)
dar por si
to suddenly realize
a malha
the knit
desgastar
to wear out
a lavagem
the wash
Questions & Answers about Ele deu por si a olhar para a malha que se desgastou durante a lavagem.
Why is se used in que se desgastou? Did the knit wear itself out?
This is the anti-causative (or middle) voice. The knit isn't performing a reflexive action on itself, nor are we pointing out who wore it out. Instead, adding se to the transitive verb desgastar (to wear out) shifts the focus to the knit undergoing a change of state. Where English simply says 'the knit wore out', Portuguese uses se to show the subject experienced the change without naming an active cause.
How does deu por si translate to 'he found himself'?
The phrase dar por si is a common idiom meaning 'to realize suddenly' or 'to find oneself' in a certain situation. When you want to say you found yourself doing something, you link it to the action using the preposition a followed by an infinitive. This structure gives us deu por si a olhar (he found himself looking).
Why is the pronoun placed before the verb in que se desgastou instead of after it?
The relative pronoun que acts as a 'magnet' word. In European Portuguese, pronouns normally attach to the end of the verb in affirmative sentences (which would be desgastou-se). However, magnet words like que force the pronoun to jump directly in front of the verb, giving us que se desgastou.
Why do we need para after olhar in this sentence?
The verb olhar (to look) requires the preposition para when you are looking at a specific target. English uses 'at', but Portuguese uses para (towards). So 'looking at the knit' naturally translates to a olhar para a malha.
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