Breakdown of Ultimamente, o meu irmãozinho anda a escrever um diário.
o irmão
the brother
um
a / an / some (all forms)
meu
my (m/f/pl: meu, minha, meus, minhas)
escrever
to write
o
him/it (m)
ultimamente
lately
andar a
to have been (doing)
o diário
the diary
Questions & Answers about Ultimamente, o meu irmãozinho anda a escrever um diário.
Why use anda a escrever instead of está a escrever?
While está a escrever means 'is writing' right at this exact moment, anda a escrever uses the verb andar (to walk/go) to show that an action has been happening repeatedly or continuously over a recent period. It translates perfectly to the English 'has been writing'.
Could I use this sentence without the word ultimamente?
Yes! The structure anda a + infinitive already implies that the action has been happening 'lately' or 'these days'. Adding ultimamente (lately) just emphasizes the recent timeframe, making it a very natural word to pair with this grammar structure.
How does the suffix in irmãozinho work with words ending in a nasal vowel like irmão?
To say 'little brother', we add the diminutive suffix -zinho to irmão. When adding -zinho or -zinha to words ending in nasal sounds (like -ão), the original word keeps its spelling and nasal sound completely intact, so irmão simply becomes irmãozinho.
Why is there an o before meu irmãozinho?
In European Portuguese, it is standard to include the definite article (o, a, os, as) before a possessive pronoun. This is a good refresher that 'my little brother' translates literally as 'the my little brother' (o meu irmãozinho).
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