Deixa para lá - in Portuguese » Brazilian Portuguese, by Semantica

I've written about the expression pode deixar and, me deixa em paz ~ me deixa sozinho (leave me in peace ~ leave me alone)... but the one that keeps coming back is: deixa para lá. Por quê? Why does this one generate the most interest?

Deixa para lá?

Probably because deixar is one powerful verb. Plus the inclusion of lá: there.

By itself it means to leave, to let. And when you use it in the phrase deixa para lá you are saying (literally), leave it in order for there.

WHAT? 🙈🙉🙊

Note also that DEIXAR is in the imperative mood MAS, it's the tu form! That's because it just IS. The proper imperative is of course, Deixe para lá . But most people use the tu form which is simply, deixa para lá. There are simply some verbs that usually take the tu form in the imperative (Olha só, Espera aí!, Tira sua mão!). And that is just ótimo right? There's no change to the verb ending - it's just the standard present tense ~ the present indicative.

Grammar: the imperative mood

» For AR regular verbs you just replace the a with an e.
» For ER & IR regular verbs you just replace the e with an a.

-ar regular verbs

falar ➜ fale
Me fale tudo!
Tell me everything!

pensar ➜ pense
Pense bem!
Think about it!

-er and -ir regular verbs

responder ➜ responda
Me responda!
Answer me!

sumir ➜ suma
Suma daqui!
Get out if here!

Some very common examples use the TU form (read the post for more explanation):

esperar » Me espera! (Wait for me!)

olhar » Olha só! (Just look!)

escutar » Escuta! (Listen!)

tirar » Tira sua mão! (Hands off!)

falar » Fala tu! (Talk to me!)

ligar » Me liga! (Call me!)

ter » Vem cá! (Come here!)

Several of these are commonly conjugated using the regular, not the “tu” form, and when they are their forms are often irregular!

imperative mood

But what about the "pra" -- ! -- This is an advanced post and I'm hoping you already "know" that pra is just the abbreviated form of para. 🧘🏼

PARA ➜ ➜ PRA when you're in a hurry or just tired of typing the extra "a" or you are just cooler than the rest of us and/or lazy and/or just like the sound of pra more than para.

Whatever. Tanto faz. Deixa pra lá!