Breakdown of Ele puxou a alavanca e o gramofone a manivela pôs-se a tocar.
e
and
ele
he
o
him/it (m)
puxar
to pull
tocar
to play (an instrument)
pôr-se a
to start
o gramofone
the gramophone
a manivela
the crank
a alavanca
the lever
Questions & Answers about Ele puxou a alavanca e o gramofone a manivela pôs-se a tocar.
Why is the preposition a used in gramofone a manivela instead of com or de?
In Portuguese, the preposition a is used to describe how a machine, vehicle, or device is powered or operated. Here, a manivela means it is operated by a hand-crank. You will see this same structure in common phrases like barco a motor (motorboat) and fogão a gás (gas stove).
Could I use começou a instead of pôs-se a here?
Yes, começou a tocar would mean the exact same thing and is perfectly correct. The pronominal verb pôr-se a (followed by an infinitive) is just another very common way to express that something or someone started an action, sometimes implying a slightly more sudden or active start.
There are three instances of the word a in this sentence. Do they all do the same job?
Not at all, and it is a great test of your B2 skills to tell them apart! The first one in a alavanca is the feminine definite article. The second one in a manivela is the preposition showing the mechanism, which is the focus of this lesson. The third one in a tocar is a preposition required by the verb phrase pôr-se a to connect it to the next action.
I know puxar means to pull, but I still mix it up with the English word push. How can I remember the difference?
Puxar is a classic false friend for English speakers. It means to pull, despite looking and sounding a bit like the English word push. To say push in Portuguese, you would use the verb empurrar. It always helps to pause and double-check your translation whenever you encounter this tricky verb!
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