Phrase · 🎚️ Nuance & positioning
Nem oito nem oitenta: dá para ajustar o plano sem abandoná-lo.
There's a middle way: we can adjust the plan without dropping it.
C1expressing attitudesAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Nem1conjunctionneitheroito1determinereightnem1conjunctionnoroitenta1determinereighty:dá2verbit's possibledar · present · 3rd sing.para2prepositiontoajustarverbadjustinfinitiveodeterminerthemasc. · sing. · definiteplanonounplanmasc. · sing.semprepositionwithoutabandoná3verbabandoningabandonar · infinitive-lo3object pronounito · 3rd sing. · direct object.
- Nem → oitenta: idiom
- dá → ajustar: dar para + infinitive
- -lo → plano: antecedent
- sem → abandoná: sem + infinitive
Word for word: “Neither eight nor eighty: it is possible to adjust the plan without abandoning it.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Nem oito nem oitenta = "no need to go from one extreme to the other": a very Brazilian call for balance.
- 2dá para + infinitive = "it's possible to", everyday Brazilian Portuguese. Light verbs & idioms with dar, ficar, deixar, pegar, rolar →
- 3After an infinitive, o becomes -lo: abandoná-lo; in speech, just sem abandonar. Clitic placement by register & written object pronouns →