# "vai (gerúndio)"



## MJD

Qual seria a melhor tradução em inglês das expressões que utilizam o verbo "ir" seguido pelo gerúndio?  Por exemplo, "vai aumentando" ou a expressão bem comum, "vai andando".  Naturalmente eu entendo as palavras, mas desconheço a regra gramatical que requer o gerúndio neste caso em vez do infinitivo.

Muito obrigado pela atenção.


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## Outsider

Esses tempos progressivos compostos são difíceis de traduzir, porque não têm um correspondente directo em inglês. Para "vai aumentando", sugiro _keeps increasing_, mas com cautela -- pode haver outras traduções melhores, conforme o contexto.
Quanto a "vai andando", pode querer dizer _go(es) on_ em alguns casos, mas não sou capaz de dar uma tradução geral sem contexto.


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## Marcio_Osorio

Concordo com Outsider em todos os pontos.

"Vai aumentando" e "vai andando" requerem algum contexto e, conforme a entonação, podem até variar de sentido.

-- O balão se enche, vai _aumentando_ até estourar. (The balloon takes in air, keeps swelling until it finally bursts.)

-- O redemoinho vai _aumentando_ em círculos. (The whirlpool keeps growing in circles.)

--
-- Como vão os negócios, Carlos? (How goes business, Carlos?)
-- Vão _andando_. (Just fair.)

-- Benedito, José pode ir com a gente [de carro]? (Benedito, can José go with us [by car]?)
-- Vai _andando_! (He'll have to walk.)

-- D. Eva, Gina pergunta como vai com todos aqueles namorados?!  (Mrs. Eva, Gina asks how have your dates gone over so far?)
-- Vou _empurrando_ com a barriga. (Well, I have bellied them a bit around. Have dealt with them in somewhat of an inordinate way. Kept taking them all for granted.)


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## rwillmsen

> Como vão os negócios, Carlos? (How goes business, Carlos?)
> -- Vão andando. (Just fair.)



'Not bad'. 'Just fair' já não se usa!


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## Marcio_Osorio

Obrigado, rwillmsen!


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## reka39

Hello! While it's quite clear to me the meaning of vai+gerundio in the sentence introduced by "enquanto", I can't understand the sequence of actions in the following sentence: "vão andando que nós estamos quase prontos". Are they already moving or it is a suggestion to start going? Thanks!


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## Vanda

reka39 said:


> Hello! While it's quite clear to me the meaning of vai+gerundio in the sentence introduced by "enquanto", I can't understand the sequence of actions in the following sentence: "vão andando que nós estamos quase prontos". Are they already moving or it is a suggestion to start going? Thanks!



Yes and no. They may be on their way, someone stopped for a while and told the others to keep going. 
Or everybody is in one place, they are heading somewhere and one of them tells the people to go that he'll go later. 

In your sentence ''vão andando que nós estamos quase prontos", we can understand that the group is - let's say at home - and a part of the group is still getting ready to go out, the other part is already ready and the ones not ready ask the others to go that they'll catch them up later.


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## reka39

Thanks! So the sentence "vai chamando o táxi que eu já desço" it could be contextualized, for example, in a hotel where I (guest) say to the receptionist to call a taxi as I'm ready? Thanks!


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## Vanda

reka39 said:


> Thanks! So the sentence "vai chamando o táxi que eu já desço" it could be contextualized, for example, in a hotel where I (guest) say to the receptionist to call a taxi as I'm ready? Thanks!



Yes    !


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## reka39

Thanks for the help! But, isn't a bit silly? As the receptionist is able to see me, why do they specify "eu já desço"? Thanks!


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## Vanda

Well, we say silly things all the time at the spur of the moment! Ah! and it can also be that you are going to delay a long time and it is not the best thing to wait for you.


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## mglenadel

reka39 said:


> Thanks for the help! But, isn't a bit silly? As the receptionist is able to see me, why do they specify "eu já desço"? Thanks!



You could say it over the phone, so it makes perfect sense. I have used similar construction when staying at a hotel in Miami. I'd call the front desk and ask them to get the parking attendant to bring my rental car from the parking garage: "hello, would you please have my car up front, I'll be down in 10 minutes".


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## reka39

Hello! Can you kindly explain to me thw following sentence: "Vão descendo que eu já vou"? Does it mean that I'm ready and I want to exhort other people to hurry up and reach me downstairs? I still can't understand the function of "já" and the use of the gerúndio. Thank you!!


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## Carfer

reka39 said:


> Hello! Can you kindly explain to me thw following sentence: "Vão descendo que eu já vou"? Does it mean that I'm ready and I want to exhort other people to hurry up and reach me downstairs? I still can't understand the function of "já" and the use of the gerúndio. Thank you!!



It's the opposite, actually: _'Keep going. I'll meet you downstairs in a moment'_


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## Ricardinho

Marcio_Osorio said:


> Concordo com Outsider em todos os pontos.
> 
> "Vai aumentando" e "vai andando" requerem algum contexto e, conforme a entonação, podem até variar de sentido.
> 
> -- O balão se enche, vai _aumentando_ até estourar. (The balloon takes in air, keeps swelling until it finally bursts.)
> 
> -- O redemoinho vai _aumentando_ em círculos. (The whirlpool keeps growing in circles.)
> 
> --
> -- Como vão os negócios, Carlos? (How goes business, Carlos?)
> -- Vão _andando_. (Just fair.)
> 
> -- Benedito, José pode ir com a gente [de carro]? (Benedito, can José go with us [by car]?)
> -- Vai _andando_! (He'll have to walk.)
> 
> -- D. Eva, Gina pergunta como vai com todos aqueles namorados?!  (Mrs. Eva, Gina asks how have your dates gone over so far?)
> -- Vou _empurrando_ com a barriga. (Well, I have bellied them a bit around. Have dealt with them in somewhat of an inordinate way. Kept taking them all for granted.)



Just curious, specifically, "vai andando" meaning "just fair" in your example of "Como vão os negócios, Carlos?"; can you say things are going not just fair, but great, by saying something like "vai correndo!"?


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## Ariel Knightly

Ricardinho said:


> Just curious, specifically, "vai andando" meaning "just fair" in your example of "Como vão os negócios, Carlos?"; can you say things are going not just fair, but great, by saying something like "vai correndo!"?


I don't think so. I guess we'd say things like _vão muito bem_ instead.


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## Outsider

Nesse caso pode-se dizer que "corre sobre rodas".


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## reka39

Carfer said:


> It's the opposite, actually: _'Keep going. I'll meet you downstairs in a moment'_



Ah!! That's hard ! I can understand the ratio under the gerúndio, but why in the other part of the sentence do they write "Já vou" ? It gives me the idea of a action done in the past. Thanks!


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## Vanda

Not on the past. The idea is ''já vou indo''.
Present of ir - eu vou


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## Carfer

reka39 said:


> Ah!! That's hard ! I can understand the ratio under the gerúndio, but why in the other part of the sentence do they write "Já vou" ? It gives me the idea of a action done in the past. Thanks!



Not in the past, but in the present (_'vou')_, as Vanda says. This present conveys a sense of future (although in this particular case an immediate future, that's what '_já_' stands for), as so often happens in Portuguese.


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## reka39

Hello! what does 'os 1200 euros amealhados vão chegando para se divertir' mean? Do I have or not these 1200 euros to spend now? It seems to me that there are going to be accredited in my bank account (for example, it's 20 and my firm pays on 25), isn't it? 
Thank you for the help!


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## anaczz

He/she means that the savings of 1200 euros are enough to have some fun. It is not to much, but he/she can have some fun with this money.


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## reka39

Thanks! But why do they use a verb of movement in the gerund form?


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## anaczz

"Chegar" also means "to be enough".

A comida não chega para todos. (A comida não é suficiente para todos.)


This usage of gerund gives the meaning that the action barely happens or is happening slowly, step by step.
This construction is more used in PtEu, but in Brazil we also use, sometimes.

- Como vai?
- Vou indo... or  Vou andando... (vou bem, mas não muito)

-Como está seu irmão?
- Vai melhorando... (está melhorando aos poucos)

A criança, aos dois anos de idade, já vai compreendendo a linguagem. (já compreende alguma coisa, começa a compreender)


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## reka39

anaczz said:


> "Chegar" also means "to be enough".
> 
> A comida não chega para todos. (A comida não é suficiente para todos.)



Thanks! 
On the other hand, how do you say 'the time of his departure is arriving' (I'm referring to sb how is on the point to die due to a disease).


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## Vanda

''the time of his departure is arriving''. A hora (dele) de partir está chegando.


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