Breakdown of Nós achamos a brincadeira hilariante, mas a rapariga faz uma careta.
a rapariga
the girl
nós
we
mas
but
um
a / an / some (all forms)
fazer
to do
achar
to reckon / to find
a brincadeira
the prank
hilariante
hilarious
a careta
the grimace
Questions & Answers about Nós achamos a brincadeira hilariante, mas a rapariga faz uma careta.
Why is there no written accent on achamos, and how does that tell us the tense?
In European Portuguese, the first-person plural of the present tense is achamos (unaccented, with a closed 'a' sound), while the simple past tense is achámos (with an acute accent and an open 'a' sound). The lack of an accent here confirms the sentence is in the present tense ('we find'), not the past ('we found').
Could we use encontramos instead of achamos to say 'we find'?
No. Achar is used when expressing an opinion, feeling, or assessment (like finding a joke hilarious). Encontrar is only used for physically locating something that was lost or discovering a tangible thing.
What else can brincadeira mean besides 'prank'?
Does careta just mean any kind of face?
Fazer uma careta specifically translates to 'pulling a face' or 'grimacing'. While the word cara is the neutral anatomical term for 'face', a careta is an expressive, contorted facial expression, often showing disapproval, disgust, or silliness.
How could we rewrite the second clause to say she 'suddenly started' making a face, using the aspectual periphrases from this lesson?
You could use pôr-se a, which indicates the sudden initiation of an action: ...mas a rapariga põe-se a fazer uma careta. You would generally avoid using desatar a here, as that periphrasis is typically reserved for more explosive or intense actions, such as crying (desatar a chorar) or laughing (desatar a rir).
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