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How to Say ‘The hot water hasn't been working since yesterday.’ in Portuguese

A água quente não funciona desde ontem.

uh AH-gwah KENT NOWN foon-see-OH-nuh DEZH-duh ohn-TENG

[uh AH-gwah KENT NOWN foon-see-OH-nuh DEZH-duh ohn-TENG]

💬 Usage Tip: English says "hasn't been working since", but Portuguese uses the simple present with desde: não funciona desde ontem. Use it for any ongoing problem, e.g. não há luz desde segunda "there's been no power since Monday".

Phrase Breakdown

A água quente

uh AH-gwah KENT

The hot water

'A' is the feminine article and 'água' is feminine. Link them smoothly: 'a-água'.

Example

A água quente acabou.

The hot water ran out.

Words in this phrase

[uh]

the

Feminine singular definite article, meaning 'the'.

Example

A empresa parece aberta a novas ideias.

The company seems open to new ideas.

água

[AH-gwah]

water

Water; in restaurants you may be asked 'com gás' (sparkling) or 'sem gás' (still).

Example

Uma garrafa de água, por favor.

A bottle of water, please.

quente

[KENT]

hot

Adjective meaning high in temperature; informally also 'attractive'.

Example

O café está muito quente.

The coffee is very hot.

não funciona

NOWN foon-see-OH-nuh

doesn't work

'Não' is nasal. 'Funciona' is the 3rd person of 'funcionar' (to work, to function).

Example

O telemóvel não funciona.

The mobile phone doesn't work.

Words in this phrase

não

[NOWN]

not

Used to negate the meaning of a word or group of words.

Example

Não quero comer agora.

I don't want to eat now.

funciona

[foon-see-OH-nuh]

works

From 'funcionar', to work or function.

Example

Isto não funciona.

This doesn't work.

desde ontem.

DEZH-duh ohn-TENG

since yesterday.

'Desde' means 'since'. In Portugal it sounds like 'dêzd'. 'Ontem' ends in a nasal sound.

Example

Estou doente desde ontem.

I've been sick since yesterday.

Words in this phrase

desde

[DEZH-duh]

since

Marks the starting point in time of something still going on.

Example

Estou doente desde sábado.

I've been ill since Saturday.

ontem

[ohn-TENG]

yesterday

A time word referring to the day before today.

Example

Mencionei «ontem» para recordar rapidamente qual foi o encontro.

I mentioned “yesterday” to quickly remind which meeting it was.

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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