Breakdown of O professor continua a confundir as alunas.
o professor
the teacher (m)
a aluna
the student (f)
a
to / at (direction)
continuar
to continue
Questions & Answers about O professor continua a confundir as alunas.
Why do we need the word a after continua?
In Portuguese, when the verb continuar (to continue) is followed by another verb to show an ongoing action, it requires the preposition a. That is why we say continua a confundir (continues to confuse).
Does as alunas mean the class is entirely female?
How is continua a confundir different from está a confundir?
Está a confundir is the standard present continuous, meaning the teacher is confusing them right now. Continua a confundir uses the exact same grammatical structure (verb + a + infinitive), but specifies that the action started in the past and is still carrying on.
Could confundir mean he is mixing the students up, rather than making them feel confused?
Exactly. Just like in English, confundir can mean to cause confusion, but it can also mean to mix people or things up (for example, constantly calling one student by another student's name). You would rely on the wider context to know which one is meant here.