Question 1

I thought lá meant "there". Why is it translated as "just" here?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, lá isn't indicating a physical location. It acts as a pragmatic mitigator—a little word used to soften a command. Adding lá to an imperative makes it sound less bossy and more like a casual request, encouragement, or an exasperated "just do it". It's very common in spoken European Portuguese to make commands feel friendlier.

Question 2

How does the tone change if we take out lá and just say Escondam o megafone?

Accepted Answer

Without lá, the sentence becomes a direct, strict order. By adding lá, the speaker softens the blow, making it closer to "Go ahead and hide the megaphone" or "Just hide the megaphone, will you?". It reduces the friction of giving an order.

Question 3

Why do the verbs end in -am (escondam) and -am (sejam)?

Accepted Answer

These are in the imperative mood, used for giving commands. For vocês (plural "you"), the imperative is formed using the present subjunctive. That's why the regular verb esconder becomes escondam, and the highly irregular verb ser becomes sejam.

Question 4

Could I use discretas instead of discretos?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you are specifically addressing a group composed entirely of women. The word discretos is the masculine plural, which is used here as the default for addressing a group of men or a mixed-gender group.

Escondam lá o megafone e sejam discretos.

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