Advérbios de lugar e dêixis (aqui, aí, ali/lá)
Advérbios de lugar e dêixis (aqui, aí, ali/lá) means “Place adverbs with a 3-way deictic system: aqui/cá (here, by me), aí (there, by you), ali/lá (over there, far).”. Portuguese place adverbs mark distance in three degrees, parallel to the demonstratives este/esse/aquele. Formation: aqui/cá (perto de quem fala) · aí (perto de quem ouve) · ali/lá (longe dos dois); daqui/daí/dali = de + advérbio; para cá / para lá = direção
Place adverbs with a 3-way deictic system: aqui/cá (here, by me), aí (there, by you), ali/lá (over there, far).
A2Formation
aqui/cá (perto de quem fala) · aí (perto de quem ouve) · ali/lá (longe dos dois); daqui/daí/dali = de + advérbio; para cá / para lá = direção
Explanation
Portuguese place adverbs mark distance in three degrees, parallel to the demonstratives este/esse/aquele. Aqui (and the more emphatic cá) means near the speaker; aí means near the listener; ali or lá means away from both. So aqui pairs with este, aí with esse, and ali/lá with aquele: 'Me passa esse livro aí' literally sends esse toward where you are. Adding de gives the origin forms daqui, daí, dali (from here/there), and para cá / para lá show direction of motion. In Brazil lá is extremely common, both for far places ('Ele mora lá longe') and figuratively, as in 'lá em casa' (at my place) or 'sei lá' (dunno / who knows). Spanish speakers get an almost one-to-one match with aquí/ahí/allí, but should notice cá and lá, which echo Spanish acá/allá.
Examples
Note
Aí is glued to esse in everyday Brazilian speech: 'esse aí', 'Me passa esse livro aí'. Lá is a workhorse for far places and idioms: 'sei lá' (dunno / who knows), 'lá em casa' (at my place), 'lá pelas tantas' (at some late point). Cá is more emphatic or literary, mostly in fixed phrases like 'Vem cá!' (Come here!).
FAQ
Advérbios de lugar e dêixis (aqui, aí, ali/lá) — what does it mean and how is it used?
Place adverbs with a 3-way deictic system: aqui/cá (here, by me), aí (there, by you), ali/lá (over there, far).. Portuguese place adverbs mark distance in three degrees, parallel to the demonstratives este/esse/aquele. Aqui (and the more emphatic cá) means near the speaker; aí means near the listener; ali or lá means away from both. So aqui pairs with este, aí with esse, and ali/lá with aquele: 'Me passa esse livro aí' literally sends esse toward where you are. Adding de gives the origin forms daqui, daí, dali (from here/there), and para cá / para lá show direction of motion. In Brazil lá is extremely common, both for far places ('Ele mora lá longe') and figuratively, as in 'lá em casa' (at my place) or 'sei lá' (dunno / who knows). Spanish speakers get an almost one-to-one match with aquí/ahí/allí, but should notice cá and lá, which echo Spanish acá/allá.
Advérbios de lugar e dêixis (aqui, aí, ali/lá) — how do you form it?
aqui/cá (perto de quem fala) · aí (perto de quem ouve) · ali/lá (longe dos dois); daqui/daí/dali = de + advérbio; para cá / para lá = direção
Advérbios de lugar e dêixis (aqui, aí, ali/lá) — any usage notes?
Aí is glued to esse in everyday Brazilian speech: 'esse aí', 'Me passa esse livro aí'. Lá is a workhorse for far places and idioms: 'sei lá' (dunno / who knows), 'lá em casa' (at my place), 'lá pelas tantas' (at some late point). Cá is more emphatic or literary, mostly in fixed phrases like 'Vem cá!' (Come here!).