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Study Resource: Brazilian Portuguese expressions with ‘pôr’

By: Ana Amélia Rodrigues dos Santos
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Brazilian Portuguese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Expressions with pôr
Examples

pôr os pontos nos is

to make everything clear, to clarify a situation.

Vamos pôr os pontos nos is e resolver esse mal-entendido.

Let’s make everything clear and solve this misunderstanding.

pôr a mão na massa

to get to work, to start doing something actively

Vamos pôr a mão na massa e terminar esse projeto.

Let’s get to work and finish this project.

pôr as cartas na mesa

to be honest and open, to reveal one's true intentions

Decidi pôr as cartas na mesa e contar tudo a ela.

I decided to be honest and tell everything to her.

pôr em prática

to put into practice, to implement

Vamos pôr em prática o plano que discutimos.

Let’s put into practice the plan we discussed.

pôr a perder

to ruin, to spoil something

Não deixe que um erro simples ponha tudo a perder.

Don’t let a simple mistake ruin everything.

pôr-se de acordo

to come to an agreement, to reconcile

Eles finalmente puseram-se de acordo sobre o contrato.

They finally came to an agreement about the contract.

pôr fim a

to put an end to, to stop

É importante pôr fim a essa discussão e seguir em frente.

It is important to put an end to this discussion and move on.

pôr o pé na estrada

to hit the road, to start a journey

Amanhã, vamos pôr o pé na estrada e viajar para o litoral

Tomorrow we will hit the road and travel to the coast.

pôr as mãos no fogo por alguém

to vouch for someone, to trust them completely

Eu posso pôr as mãos no fogo por ela, ela é honesta.

I can vouch for her, she is honest.

pôr em cheque

to question, to cast doubt on something

As novas evidências puseram em cheque a teoria anterior

The new evidence cast doubt on the previous theory.

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