Breakdown of Ela anda a poupar dinheiro para a maratona em Londres.
ela
she
Londres
London
em
in / on / at
o dinheiro
the money
para
to / for
o
him/it (m)
andar a
to have been (doing)
a maratona
the marathon
poupar
to save (money, resources)
Questions & Answers about Ela anda a poupar dinheiro para a maratona em Londres.
Why does this sentence use anda a poupar instead of está a poupar?
While está a poupar simply means she is saving right now, the structure andar a plus an infinitive is used for actions that have been happening repeatedly or continuously over a recent period. It translates best to "has been saving" rather than "is saving".
Can I say Ela tem poupado to mean the same thing?
Yes, tem poupado also means "has been saving" and is completely correct here. Using andar a plus an infinitive is just a very natural, conversational way to express in Portuguese that someone has been spending their time doing an ongoing activity lately.
I learned that "to save" is salvar. Why is poupar used in this sentence?
It depends on what you are saving. You use poupar for conserving resources like money, time, or water. You use salvar when rescuing someone from danger, saving a life, or saving a digital document on your computer.
Why do we use the preposition para instead of por before a maratona?
Learn Ela anda a poupar dinheiro para a maratona em Londres and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free