Breakdown of Imaginando que a bagagem esteja extraviada, a companhia aérea dá-lhes um vale.
um
a / an / some (all forms)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
dar
to give
lhes
to them / to you (plural formal)
a bagagem
the luggage
a companhia aérea
the airline
imaginando que
imagining that
extraviado
misplaced
o vale
the voucher
Questions & Answers about Imaginando que a bagagem esteja extraviada, a companhia aérea dá-lhes um vale.
Why is the subjunctive esteja used after imaginando que?
Imaginando que sets up a hypothetical scenario. Whenever you frame a situation as a pure assumption or possibility rather than an established fact, Portuguese requires the subjunctive. We use the present subjunctive esteja because the result in the main clause (dá-lhes) is also in the present tense.
Since European Portuguese often avoids the gerund (-ndo endings), why is imaginando used here instead of a imaginar?
While it is true that European Portuguese usually prefers a + infinitive for ongoing continuous actions (like saying estou a comer instead of estou comendo), the gerund is entirely standard and natural in Portugal when forming adverbial phrases and hypothetical conjunctions like imaginando que, supondo que, or admitindo que.
Why do we use a form of estar (esteja) instead of ser (seja) for misplaced luggage?
We use estar because being misplaced is a temporary condition or the result of an action, not an inherent, permanent characteristic of the luggage. The luggage was not created lost; it just temporarily ended up that way!
Is extraviada the most common word for lost luggage?
Yes, in the context of airports, transport, and postal services, extraviada (from the verb extraviar, meaning to misplace or misdirect) is the standard, official term. You can use perdida (lost) in everyday casual speech, but extraviada is the exact word you will see on official airport forms and signs.
Why is the pronoun attached to the end of the verb in dá-lhes instead of coming before it?
In European Portuguese, pronouns normally attach to the end of the verb in affirmative main clauses. While subordinate clauses and certain trigger words usually pull pronouns to the front, the comma here separates the dependent clause from the main clause. The main clause starts fresh with a companhia aérea, so the normal rule applies and lhes attaches to the end of dá.
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