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Tirando tu, o médico não tirou o ferrão a ninguém.

Tirando tu, o médico não tirou o ferrão a ninguém.
Except for you, the doctor did not take the stinger out of anyone.
From Lesson 365:Subject pronouns with exceptions (exceto / salvo / tirando)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Tirando tu, o médico não tirou o ferrão a ninguém.

Why do we use tu instead of ti after tirando?
Even though tirando acts as a preposition here, prepositions of exception like tirando, exceto, and salvo are special. They are always followed by subject pronouns (eu, tu) rather than the usual prepositional object pronouns (mim, ti).
Does tirando come from the verb tirar used later in the sentence?
Yes! The verb tirar means to take or remove, as seen in tirou o ferrão (removed the stinger). The gerund form tirando literally means taking away, but it functions here as a set preposition meaning except or apart from.
Why does the sentence use a ninguém instead of de ninguém for taking something out of someone?
In Portuguese, verbs involving taking, removing, stealing, or buying something from a person typically use the preposition a rather than de to indicate the person affected.
As a quick refresher, why do we need não if we already have ninguém?
Portuguese requires double negatives. When a negative word like ninguém appears after the verb, you must put não before the verb. If ninguém had appeared before the verb as the subject, the não would have been dropped.

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