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How to Say ‘And before, where did you work?’ in Portuguese

E antes, onde trabalhava?

ee AHN-tsh OHN-deh truh-buh-LYAH-vuh

[ee AHN-tsh OHN-deh truh-buh-LYAH-vuh]

Phrase Breakdown

E antes,

ee AHN-tsh

And before,

'Antes' means 'before'. Nasal 'an', and the final 's' is 'sh': 'i AN-təsh'. Pause after the comma.

Example

E antes, morava onde?

And before, where did you live?

Words in this phrase

[ee]

and

A simple connector joining two qualities or ideas.

Example

Procuro um ambiente aberto e humano.

I am looking for an open and human environment.

antes

[AHN-tsh]

before

Adverb/preposition of time meaning earlier than something.

Example

Chego antes das nove.

I arrive before nine.

onde trabalhava?

OHN-deh truh-buh-LYAH-vuh

where did you work?

'Trabalhava' is the imperfect tense for an ongoing past action. Stress the 'lha': 'ON-də trə-ba-LHA-və'.

Example

Onde trabalhava o teu pai?

Where did your father work?

Words in this phrase

onde

[OHN-deh]

where

Asks about location.

Example

Onde fica a loja?

Where is the shop?

trabalhava

[truh-buh-LYAH-vuh]

you used to work (formal)

Imperfect tense of 'trabalhar', for ongoing past actions; here formal 'you'.

Example

Onde trabalhava o senhor?

Where did you use to work, sir?

Guides for Portuguese learners

The Portuguese You Actually Need in Your First Month in PortugalThe European Portuguese phrases for your first weeks in Portugal: paperwork, renting a flat, the bank, the health centre, cafés, trains and your new neighbours.

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