Breakdown of Há duas semanas que ando para ir ao oculista.
dois
two
a
to / at (direction)
ir
to go
a semana
the week
o
him/it (m)
que
that (conjunction)
haver
ago / for (a period of time)
andar para
to have been meaning to
o oculista
the optician
Questions & Answers about Há duas semanas que ando para ir ao oculista.
How does ando para ir translate to 'have been meaning to go'?
The structure andar para + infinitive is used to describe an action that you intend to do, but keep delaying or haven't gotten around to yet. Even though andar literally means 'to walk', in this aspectual phrase it expresses an ongoing state of delayed intention.
Why do we use Há and que instead of a literal translation for the word 'for'?
In Portuguese, to say you have been doing something for a specific amount of time, the standard structure is Há + [duration] + que + [present tense verb]. It literally translates as 'There are two weeks that...', which completely replaces the English use of the preposition 'for'.
Why is ando in the present tense when the English translation says 'have been meaning'?
Because the delayed intention is still true right now, Portuguese uses the simple present tense with the Há... que time expression. English uses the present perfect continuous ('have been meaning') for actions that started in the past and continue into the present, which is a common mismatch between the two languages.
Can I just say estou para ir instead of ando para ir?
They are similar but have a slightly different nuance. Estar para often means you are on the verge of doing something very soon ('I am about to go'). Andar para emphasizes a lingering, delayed intention over a continuous period of time, which perfectly matches the two-week delay described in this sentence.
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