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Levanta a mão para responder.

Levanta a mão para responder.
Raise your hand to answer.
From Lesson 140:Os verbos do dia a dia (tomar, faltar)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Levanta a mão para responder.

Why does it say a mão ("the hand") instead of using a word for "your"?
In English, we always use possessives with body parts ("your hand", "my head"). In Portuguese, when it is obvious whose body part is involved, you just use the definite article (o or a). So, a mão translates naturally to "your hand" here.
Is Levanta a command? Why doesn't it have an "s" at the end if it is for tu?
Yes, it is an informal command. To make a positive command for tu (informal "you"), you take the present tense form (tu levantas) and drop the final "s", leaving you with levanta. If you were speaking formally to a você, it would be Levante.
Why isn't the verb reflexive here, like levanta-te?
You use the reflexive form (levanta-te) when you want someone to "raise themselves" (meaning to stand up or get out of bed). Here, the person is lifting a specific object (a mão), not their whole body, so we use the regular, non-reflexive form of the verb.
Why do we need para before responder?
When para comes right before a verb in its raw dictionary form (like responder), it usually means "in order to". It shows the purpose of the action: you raise your hand in order to answer.

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