Olá pessoal! (Hey, everyone!)

As you know, to use expressions shows that you have a good command of a foreign language. Last week we learned a few idiomatic expressions and collocations with the verb “dar” (to give). Now we’ll move on to the second part of the list.

Se dar mal – to fail, to get in trouble, get your fingers burnt

• Pedro não estudou para a prova e se deu mal (Pedro didn’t study for the test and failed)
• Não dirija sem sua carteira senão você vai se dar mal (Don’t drive without your license or you’ll get in trouble)

Se dar bem – to succeed, to score, to do well

• Afonso fez medicina porque queria se dar bem na vida (Afonso went to med school because he wanted to succeed in life)
• Muitos cantores brasileiros se deram bem no exterior e venderam muitos discos (Many Brazilian musicians did well abroad and sold a lot of records)

Se dar bem com alguém – to get along with someone

• A chave para um bom ambiente de trabalho é se dar bem com seus colegas (The key to a good work environment is to get along well with your colleagues)
• Eu não gosto de viajar com a minha irmã porque nunca nos damos bem (I don’t like to travel with my sister because we never get along well)

Dar conta – to be able to, to handle

• Eu não dou conta das tarefas domésticas sozinha, preciso de ajuda (I can’t handle the household chores on my own, I need help)
• Minhã irmã dá conta de correr cinco quilômetros em vinte minutos (My sister is able to run five quilometers in twenty minutes)

Se dar conta – to realize, to notice, to become aware

• Só fui me dar conta que tinha esquecido minha carteira quando entrei no ônibus (I only realized that I had forgotten my wallet when I got on the bus)
• Quando eles se deram conta de que estavam sendo enganados, era tarde demais (When they realized they were being fooled, it was too late)

Dar a volta por cima – to get back on your feet, to go on, to bounce back

• Com a ajuda da esposa, João conseguiu dar a volta por cima depois da doença (With his wife’s help, João was able to get back on his feet after his disease)
• O time estava indo mal, mas deu a volta por cima no final da temporada (The team was performing poorly, but they bounced back by the end of the season)

Dar problema – to give trouble, to fail

• Já tenho esse carro há quatro anos e ele nunca deu problema (I’ve had this car for four years and it never gave me any trouble)
• Toda vez que tento instalar o programa dá problema (Everytime I try to install the software it fails)

Dar pena – to be a pity, to feel sorry

• A situação atual do país é de dar pena (The country’s current situation is pitiful)
• Quando resgatamos os filhotes, eles estavam em um estado de dar pena (When we rescued the puppies, they were in a pitiful condition)

Dar na telha – to do or to say something impulsively, without thinking rationally

• Se continuar falando o que te dá na telha, você vai acabar machucando alguém (If you keep saying whatever you think, you’ll end up hurting someone)
• Fabrício tem tanto dinheiro que ele sempre faz o que dá na telha (Fabrício has so much money that he always does whatever he wants)

Dar na cara – to be evident, to be obvious, to draw attention

• Não fale tão alto! Vai dar na cara que você está bêbado (Don’t talk so loud! It’lll be obvious that you’re drunk)
• O jeito que a Fernanda olhou para o Pedro deu na cara que ela gosta dele (The way Fernanda looked at Pedro made it evident that she likes him)

Dar a entender – to suggest, to imply, to give the impression

• A mensagem dela deu a entender que ela gostava de mim (Her text gave me the impression that she liked me)
• O anfitrião da festa deu a entender que queria que os convidados fossem embora quando desligou o som (The party host gave the impression that he wanted his guests to leave when he turned off the music)

*Attention! “Dar” is also a slang for “having sex” for women.

Deu pra entender? Could you understand?

Do you know any other expressions with the word “dar”?

Have a nice week!