The Paranoid Librarian
I asked the librarian if they had any books on paranoia.
She looked up and whispered "estão mesmo atrás de ti.they're right behind you."
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The Plus version of this story
Perguntei à bibliotecária se tinham algum* livro sobre paranóia.Ela levantou o olhar* e sussurrou*, "Estão mesmo* atrás de si*."I asked the librarian if they had any books on paranoia.She looked up and whispered, "They're right behind you.”
🔎 Words in this story
✴️ Algum (any)
The word “algum” translates either as “some” (undefined quantity) or “any” (one among several). Here, it is in the singular and masculine form. The feminine form is “alguma” and the plurals are “alguns/algumas.”
“Nenhum(a)” and the respective plural forms can also mean “any” in negative sentences. For example: “Não há nenhuma encomenda para ti” (There isn’t any package for you).
💡Language tip: The Portuguese plural indefinite pronouns “uns” and “umas” are also translated as “some” in English. The main difference is that "alguns/algumas" refers to an unclear quantity of something, while "uns/umas" refer to the indefinition of the thing itself.
So when we say "Comprei alguns livros" (I bought some books), the focus is on the indefinition of the quantity (we don’t say how many), and when we say "Comprei uns livros" (I bought some books) the focus is on the indefinition of the object (we are not specifying which books we bought).
There is a Plus version of this story
The same story, taken further, for DailyNata Plus members. This one works on indefinite pronouns.
- The whole story in Portuguese, and its English
- The words in it, explained, with examples
Written for level B1. Every story has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.