Língua da Gente — O Bebê Está Dormindo!

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

First listen: Where are these people? Why does speaker A ask for quiet? How does speaker B react?

Língua da Gente · Episode 29

💬 The Conversation

Listen again while reading. Focus on how A makes the request politely — and on how B apologizes when they realise what's happening.

A

Dá licença, fiquem mais quietinhos por favor.

Excuse me, could you be a little more quiet please.

B

Por quê? Que que houve?

Why? What's up?

A

O bebê está dormindo.

The baby is sleeping.

B

Ah, desculpa, eu não sabia.

Ah, sorry, I didn't know.

📖 Estar + gerúndio — What's happening right now

A explains the situation with "O bebê está dormindo" — the baby is sleeping (right now, at this moment). Brazilian Portuguese uses estar + verb -ndo for ongoing actions, just like English uses "is/am/are + -ing".

Subject	Estar (to be)	Example — gerúndio	Meaning
Eu	estou	Eu estou dormindo.	I am sleeping.
Você / Ele / Ela	está	O bebê está dormindo.	The baby is sleeping.
A gente	está	A gente está falando.	We are talking.
Vocês / Eles / Elas	estão	Eles estão cantando.	They are singing.

How to form the gerúndio (-ndo):

Infinitive	Remove -r	Add -ndo	Result
dormir	dormi	+ ndo	dormindo
falar	fala	+ ndo	falando
comer	come	+ ndo	comendo
cantar	canta	+ ndo	cantando

🇧🇷 Brazil vs. Portugal This -ndo pattern is a hallmark of Brazilian Portuguese. In Portugal, people say "está a dormir" (estar + a + infinitivo). If you hear or read "está dormindo", it's Brazilian. Both mean exactly the same thing — they just sound very different!

📖 Pedir com educação — Dá licença / Fiquem quietinhos

A uses two polite request strategies in one sentence: an imperative verb (Fiquem) and a diminutive to soften the tone (quietinhos). Brazilian Portuguese is famous for this combination — it turns a command into a warm request.

Expression	Literal meaning	Function
Dá licença	"Give permission"	Polite opener — "Excuse me". Used to interrupt, ask someone to move, or get attention.
Fiquem quietos	"Be quiet" (for a group)	Direct imperative of ficar for vocês. Effective but blunt.
Fiquem quietinhos	"Be a little quiet"	The diminutive -inhos softens the command — it sounds caring, not aggressive. Same idea, much gentler tone.

🔊 Diminutivo como estratégia de polidez Adding -inho / -inha / -inhos / -inhas to adjectives, adverbs, or even verbs in commands is one of the most Brazilian ways to sound polite and warm. Um minutinho (just a tiny minute), mais baixinho (a little softer), espera só um pouquinho (just one tiny moment) — none of these mean the thing is actually small. They signal: "I'm being nice about this."

📖 Key Expressions from the Dialogue

Portuguese	English	Notes
Dá licença	Excuse me	Very common — to interrupt, get attention, or ask someone to make space. Different from com licença (said when physically passing by someone).
Por quê?	Why?	Por quê (two words, accented) = standalone question. Porque (one word, no accent) = because. Compare: Por quê? / Porque estou cansada.
Que que houve?	What's up? / What happened?	You saw this in Episode 27! Reduced from O que é que houve?. Very common informal question.
Desculpa	Sorry	Informal. More formal: Desculpe or Me desculpe. For big apologies: Peço desculpas. All very common in Brazil.
Eu não sabia.	I didn't know. / I had no idea.	Past form of saber (to know). Sabia is the imperfect — it expresses what you were unaware of. A very natural, polite way to excuse yourself.

🇧🇷 Culture Note — How Brazilians apologize In Brazilian Portuguese there are several levels of apology: Oi, desculpa (casual, light), Desculpe (slightly more formal), Me desculpe or Me perdoe (sincere), and Peço desculpas (formal, for serious situations). Adding "eu não sabia" softens any apology further — it explains that the mistake was unintentional. B uses exactly this strategy in the dialogue: Desculpa, eu não sabia.

1 What does it mean? — Expression Quiz

Each expression comes from the dialogue. Choose the correct English meaning.

Dá licença.

✅ Correct! Dá licença = "Give permission" → used as a polite "Excuse me" to get attention or interrupt. Don't confuse with Com licença (said when passing by someone physically).

O bebê está dormindo.

✅ Correct! Está dormindo = estar (is) + gerúndio (sleeping) → present progressive. The action is happening right now!

Eu não sabia.

✅ Correct! Sabia is the past (imperfect) of saber. Eu não sabia = I didn't know / I had no idea — a very natural, polite excuse.

Fiquem mais quietinhos!

✅ Correct! Fiquem = imperative of ficar for vocês. Quietinhos = quietos + -inhos diminutive. The diminutive makes the command much gentler and more polite.

2 Complete the Dialogue

Fill in the blanks with the missing words.
Word bank: quietinhos · dormindo · sabia · bebê · desculpa

— Dá licença, fiquem mais por favor.

— Por quê? Que que houve?

— O está .

— Ah, , eu não .

3 Estar + gerúndio — Choose the correct form

Choose the correct form of estar for each sentence.

O bebê ___ dormindo.

Eu ___ falando muito alto.

Os meus amigos ___ cantando.

A gente ___ comendo agora.

4 Your Turn — What's happening around you?

Write in Portuguese.
Describe 3 things that are happening around you right now. Use estar + gerúndio. Try at least one negative sentence (não está…).