Dar para

By James Hall / / Intermediate Portuguese Grammar

Dar para

This is an extension of our post about the many uses of the verb DAR.

The verb DAR is just one of those incredibly flexible, powerhouse verbs.

Use the combination of verb Dar para when you want to convey the possibility of something. "Dá para falar com ele" - Would it be POSSIBLE for you to speak to him?"
Tuning into these special verbs will really accelerate your language learning. Others include FICAR, IR and TER.

Think of the literal translation to give, and how that conveys the idea of possibility. To give something is to be possible. If you wanted to say that it's possible to get somewhere on foot, by walking you could say:

Dá para chegar lá a pé? = Can you get there on foot?

Or, if you wonder if something is "doable", possible to do:

Dá para fazer? = Is it possible to do?

How about the negative?

Não dá. = Can't do it!

Nice and simple. This is truly POWERFUL.

Não dá para perceber. = You can't tell.

Just join DAR + PARA + verb in the infinitive.

And in the past tense:

Não deu para ir à festa ontem. = It wasn't possible to go to the party yesterday.

You could use any tense in this construction: dava, daria, dará... The format is always the same. Just the conjugation of dar that changes.

It's this type of rule that we emphasize in our dialogs. Ones that have the broadest applications and are easy to recall. So you can get into the conversation quickly.

From the video learning course, INTENSIVO.