Breakdown of Ele afasta a bruxa quando se esconde debaixo da cama.
ele
he
quando
when
a cama
the bed
debaixo de
under
Questions & Answers about Ele afasta a bruxa quando se esconde debaixo da cama.
Why does the pronoun se come before the verb in quando se esconde?
This is the main rule for this lesson! The word quando (when) is a subordinating conjunction. In European Portuguese, subordinating conjunctions act like magnets that pull the object pronoun (se) to the front of the verb. Without quando, you would normally attach the pronoun to the end: ele esconde-se (he hides himself).
What is the purpose of the word se in this sentence?
It is a reflexive pronoun meaning "himself". The verb esconder means "to hide" (an object or secret). By adding se, the verb becomes esconder-se (to hide oneself). Here, it clarifies that he is hiding his own body under the bed, rather than hiding something else.
Why is it debaixo da cama and not just debaixo de cama?
The compound preposition for "under" or "underneath" is debaixo de. Because we are talking about a specific bed ("the bed"), we need the feminine definite article a. The preposition de merges with a to form the contraction da.
I haven't seen afasta used as "wards off" before. What does it literally mean?
The verb afastar literally means "to move away", "to push apart", or "to distance". So, he is literally "distancing" or "moving the witch away" from himself. In English, when dealing with witches, pests, or bad luck, we naturally translate this idea as "warding off".