What Does Dar um Gás Mean in Brazilian Portuguese — Practice
A guided practice lesson with English explanations, Brazilian Portuguese examples, and answers you can check. Read the examples, recall the meaning, then say a version of your own.
Use dar o gás for extra effort or speed
Dar um gás is informal Brazilian Portuguese for putting in extra effort, working intensely, or speeding up. Someone might use it before a deadline, during a workout, or when the group needs to finish a task. The context tells you whether the emphasis is on effort or pace.
You may hear conjugated forms such as dei o gás, vamos dar um gás, and dá o gás. The phrase often encourages action, but its intensity can vary.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Vamos dar um gás para terminar antes do almoço. | Let’s push hard to finish before lunch. |
| Ela deu um gás nos últimos quilômetros. | She pushed harder over the last few kilometers. |
| Dá um gás, falta pouco! | Pick up the pace; there isn’t much left! |
Choose a neutral verb for formal communication
In a professional message, trabalhar com mais foco, acelerar, or intensificar o ritmo can be clearer and less colloquial. Also be mindful of workload: an enthusiastic phrase should not replace a realistic deadline or a conversation about someone’s capacity.
The literal noun gás can mean gas or fuel in other contexts. In dar um gás, the phrase is figurative and refers to effort or speed.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Precisamos acelerar a revisão para cumprir o prazo. | We need to speed up the review to meet the deadline. |
| Vou me concentrar por mais trinta minutos. | I’ll focus for another thirty minutes. |
| A equipe aumentou o ritmo na etapa final. | The team increased its pace in the final stage. |
Remember: Dar o gás is an informal call to put in more effort or move faster. Use a direct verb such as acelerar or intensificar in formal writing.
Check your understanding
Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.
Recall the Portuguese, then say it
Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.
Let’s push hard to finish before lunch.
Show a Portuguese answer
Vamos dar um gás para terminar antes do almoço.
She pushed harder over the last few kilometers.
Show a Portuguese answer
Ela deu um gás nos últimos quilômetros.
Pick up the pace; there isn’t much left!
Show a Portuguese answer
Dá um gás, falta pouco!
We need to speed up the review to meet the deadline.
Show a Portuguese answer
Precisamos acelerar a revisão para cumprir o prazo.
I’ll focus for another thirty minutes.
Show a Portuguese answer
Vou me concentrar por mais trinta minutos.
The team increased its pace in the final stage.
Show a Portuguese answer
A equipe aumentou o ritmo na etapa final.
Make the phrase useful to you
Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.
Dar o gás is an informal call to put in more effort or move faster. Use a direct verb such as acelerar or intensificar in formal writing.
Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.
Sources and your next lesson
This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our What Does Dar um Gás Mean in Brazilian Portuguese? lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.
To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.
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