Breakdown of Pela sua expressão, ele é muito interessado e só quer dinheiro.
ser
to be
e
and
ele
he
muito
much / very
o dinheiro
the money
querer
to want
por
through / by / for / because of
só
only
seu
your (formal) / his / her
interessado
self-seeking, interested
a expressão
the expression
Questions & Answers about Pela sua expressão, ele é muito interessado e só quer dinheiro.
Wait, doesn't interessado mean 'interested'? Why is it translated as 'self-seeking'?
This is a great example of an adjective changing meaning depending on the verb! When used with estar (ele está interessado), it means 'he is interested' in a topic or event. But when used with ser (ele é interessado), it describes a personality trait: being opportunistic, calculating, or driven by self-interest, often regarding money.
Why do we use Pela to mean 'By' in 'By his expression'?
The preposition por (which merges with a to become pela) is often used to show the basis for a judgment or the means by which you figure something out. In this context, it translates well to 'judging by' or 'based on'.
Since sua can mean his, her, or your, how do we know it means 'his' expression here?
Context! Because the second part of the sentence explicitly uses the subject pronoun ele (he), we can safely deduce that the expression belongs to him. In Portuguese, it is very common to rely on the rest of the sentence to clarify ambiguous possessives like seu and sua.
If I changed é to está, would the sentence still make sense?
Grammatically yes, but the meaning becomes awkward. Ele está muito interessado means he is actively showing interest in whatever is happening right now. However, pairing that temporary state with 'and only wants money' sounds strange, because the second half describes a greedy character trait. That permanent trait perfectly matches the 'self-seeking' meaning of ser interessado.
Learn Pela sua expressão, ele é muito interessado e só quer dinheiro and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free