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How to Say ‘There was a lot of traffic on the bridge.’ in Portuguese

Havia muito trânsito na ponte.

ah-VEE-ah MWEEN-too TRAHN-zee-too nuh POHN-teh

[ah-VEE-ah MWEEN-too TRAHN-zee-too nuh POHN-teh]

Phrase Breakdown

Havia muito trânsito

ah-VEE-ah MWEEN-too TRAHN-zee-too

There was a lot of traffic

Silent 'h' in 'havia'. 'Muito' is nasal ('muintu'). Stress 'trân' in 'trânsito'.

Example

Havia muito trânsito hoje.

There was a lot of traffic today.

Words in this phrase

Havia

[ah-VEE-ah]

there was

Imperfect of 'haver', meaning there was/there were.

Example

Havia muita gente.

There were many people.

muito

[MWEEN-too]

much

Intensifies comparatives like 'melhor'.

Example

Está muito mais frio hoje.

It's much colder today.

trânsito

[TRAHN-zee-too]

traffic

Masculine noun for road traffic.

Example

Há trânsito na ponte.

There is traffic on the bridge.

na ponte.

nuh POHN-teh

on the bridge.

'Na' is 'em' + 'a' (on/in the). 'Ponte' has a nasal 'on', and the final 'e' is almost silent.

Example

Estou na ponte.

I'm on the bridge.

Words in this phrase

[nuh]

in the / on the

Contraction of em + a, used before feminine singular nouns like semana.

Example

Na próxima reunião, posso apresentar a proposta.

At the next meeting, I can present the proposal.

ponte

[POHN-teh]

bridge

Structure crossing a river or road.

Example

Atravessámos a ponte.

We crossed the bridge.

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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