By JUNE LOVER features@algarveresident.com
After 35 years in the TV and film industry, June Lover retired to the Algarve in 2006. Having owned a holiday property here for 12 years she now lives in the hills above Almancil.
What exactly do we mean when we say “Take it easy”? Calm down? Relax? Don’t work too hard? Don’t get your knickers in a twist?”
Whatever it is, we Brits know instinctively how and when to use it. It’s an expression. And like most expressions, it doesn’t translate into a foreign language. Least of all Portuguese, which gives me something of a problem.
As someone who’s been trying to learn the language for the last 18 months, I’m finding it difficult to express thoughts like these.
It’s a bit like “take a seat”. To us, this is an invitation to sit down and make yourself comfortable. But literally translated, it could constitute an invitation to your Portuguese guest to load your favourite chair onto the back of his truck and take it home with him.
Whilst this is an unlikely scenario, it’s another demonstration of how we can’t translate our well-worn phrases without considerable forethought as to what we actually mean.
“Take it easy” and “take a seat” got me thinking. Have you ever considered the number of different ways in which we use the word “take”? Just look at the following list.
Take it or leave it. Take it from me. Do you take sugar? You take after your father. I can’t take any more. What’s your take on that? Take a break. Take your girlfriend out. He’ll take you to the cleaners. Take a tip from me. Take it away. Take that! He’s got what it takes. Take advantage of. Take someone in hand. Take it upon yourself. Take something apart. Take your time. I can’t take it in. Take up a hobby. Take off (become airborne, mimic, or remove something). Take-home pay. Take someone in. Take a photograph. Take the dog for a walk.
See what I mean? Without even trying, I’ve come up with another 25 different ways of using the word “take”, and I’m sure you can come up with dozens more.
With an eye for the main chance, and a desperate desire to simplify my Portuguese-speak, I saw this as a great opportunity.
This multi-functional word could be my saviour. All I have to do is learn the Portguese verb ‘to take’, and the key to a dozen expressions is mine. Easy-peasy!
As always, I was wrong. The one single word that I thought might be my salvation has turned into a bad dream.
There’s no such thing as a short-cut in the Portuguese language, and the word ‘take’, or indeed the verb ‘to take’, comes in different forms depending on how you want to use it.
Just when I thought I might be getting the hang of things, someone pulled the rug from under my feet.
There are three basic ways of saying ‘to take’. Levar, Tomar and Tirar. The good news is they are all regular verbs ending in -ar, so you only have to remember one set of verb endings.
The bad news is that you have to learn which one to use for the appropriate occasion. Hmmm… I’m tempted to sweep them all under the proverbial carpet, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, so here goes.
Levar – as far as I can work out, this is a physical act. You ‘take’ something (or someone) with you, like taking the dog for a walk.
You may have seen the sign ‘Para Levar’ outside your local churrasqueira – in this case it means a ‘Take-away’. Or, O Pedro levou a sogra dele ao aeroporto – Peter took his mother-in-law to the airport (and then legged it in case another cloud of volcanic ash delayed her flight and she had to stay an extra week!)
And next time you go to the Multibanco to draw some cash out, think about the word Levantamentos that you see on the screen.
As we all know it means withdrawals, but it comes from the verb levar – it was a long time before I sussed that one out.
Levar also has to do with ‘taking time’. Leva dois minutos para cozinhar um omelete. It takes two minutes to cook an omelette. I wish!
Tomar – this ‘take’ is to do with ingesting – drinking, eating and the like. Toma açúcar? Do you take sugar?
That’s simple enough, but it can get a bit complicated because this form of ‘take’ can also be used in the same way that we use ‘have’.
In English I have a coffee – in Portuguese I take a coffee. Tomo um café. If only it were that straightforward.
In English we have lunch or dinner, but not here in Portugal. We lunch – almoçamos – or we dine – jantamos. We don’t have or take either – we just use the appropriate verb and stuff ourselves until we’re full.
But oddly enough, tomar does apply to breakfast. Tomo pequeno almoço às oito horas. I have (take) breakfast at 8 o’clock. Complicated, isn’t it?
Tomar is also used for taking a bath or a shower. I bet you’re glad I told you that.
Tirar – this is how we take a photograph apparently. Tiramos uma fotografia. Other than that I’m not actually sure how to define this ‘take’ compared to the others.
It seems to be to do with ‘taking from’. If you were telling your inquisitive child to get his sticky fingers out of your handbag, you might use tirar, but I’m not sure.
I wasn’t expecting all of my 25 ‘takes’ to translate using the above verbs, but I was surprised that so few do. Some don’t translate at all, and some use obvious alternatives.
To take someone in hand uses disciplinar. To take it upon yourself uses voluntariar.
To take something apart used desmanchar. And ‘I take it that’s a “no”’ uses assumir. Obvious when you think about it.
We don’t ‘take a break’ apparently, we stop! Pare! Sounds a bit harsh to me and hardly comes across as a friendly invitation to down tools and rest for a moment or two.
And I’m disappointed about ‘take a seat’, because our polite invitation to take the weight off your feet becomes a Barbara Woodhouse command to a trembling Setter to become an obedient sitter. Sit!
I want to make it a bit more friendly than that, but the best I can manage is sente-se. Maybe reflexive verbs have their uses after all, but it’s hardly the same as “make yourself comfy”. Know what I mean?
Other ‘takes’ use the most extraordinary substitutes. Apparently, to take after your father uses the verb sair, meaning to exit. Tu sais ao teu pai.
I really can’t work that one out. And so it goes on. My plan to harness the Portuguese language in one fell-swoop has failed yet again.
I’ve saved my favourite ‘til last, however. Take it easy! It doesn’t feature in any of the above ‘takes’. No surprises there.
But who would have thought it would use the verb ir, to go? Vai com calma – go with calm.
Probably the best Portuguese phrase I’ve learnt so far. I feel better already.
