To stop oneself in Portuguese 🇧🇷

deter-se info.

Tips to remember:
• Notice that “detenho” in the present (eu me detenho) sounds like “I have” (eu tenho) but with the extra “de-” prefix. This can help you recall that “deter-se” means to hold or stop oneself.
• Think of the English “detain” as a reminder that the action involves restraining or stopping an action within oneself.

Explanation:
“Deter-se” is a reflexive verb meaning “to stop oneself” or “to hold oneself back.” It is often used when someone decides not to do something impulsive or potentially harmful, implying an act of self-restraint.

Similar words:
• Abster-se – to abstain
• Conter-se – to restrain oneself
• Reprimir-se – to hold back or suppress oneself

Conjugation (using the reflexive form with the pronoun):
Infinitive: deter-se
Gerund: detendo-se
Past Participle: detido

Indicative Present:
• Eu me detenho – I stop myself / I hold myself back
• Tu te deténs – You stop yourself
• Ele/Ela se detém – He/She stops himself/herself
• Nós nos detemos – We stop ourselves
• Vós vos detendes – You (plural) stop yourselves
• Eles/Elas se detêm – They stop themselves

Preterite Perfect (Simple Past):
• Eu me detive – I stopped myself
• Tu te detiveste – You stopped yourself
• Ele/Ela se deteve – He/She stopped himself/herself
• Nós nos detivemos – We stopped ourselves
• Vós vos detivestes – You (plural) stopped yourselves
• Eles/Elas se detiveram – They stopped themselves

Imperfect:
• Eu me detinha – I was stopping myself / I used to stop myself
• Tu te detinhas – You were stopping yourself
• Ele/Ela se detinha – He/She was stopping himself/herself
• Nós nos detínhamos – We were stopping ourselves
• Vós vos detínheis – You (plural) were stopping yourselves
• Eles/Elas se detinham – They were stopping themselves

Future:
• Eu me deterei – I will stop myself
• Tu te deterás – You will stop yourself
• Ele/Ela se deterá – He/She will stop himself/herself
• Nós nos deteremos – We will stop ourselves
• Vós vos deter-eis – You (plural) will stop yourselves
• Eles/Elas se deterão – They will stop themselves

Conditional:
• Eu me deteria – I would stop myself
• Tu te deterias – You would stop yourself
• Ele/Ela se deteria – He/She would stop himself/herself
• Nós nos deteríamos – We would stop ourselves
• Vós vos deteríeis – You (plural) would stop yourselves
• Eles/Elas se deteriam – They would stop themselves

Subjunctive Present:
• Que eu me detenha – That I stop myself
• Que tu te detenhas – That you stop yourself
• Que ele/ela se detenha – That he/she stops himself/herself
• Que nós nos detenhamos – That we stop ourselves
• Que vós vos detenhais – That you (plural) stop yourselves
• Que eles/elas se detenham – That they stop themselves

Subjunctive Imperfect:
• Se eu me detivesse – If I stopped myself
• Se tu te detivesses – If you stopped yourself
• Se ele/ela se detivesse – If he/she stopped himself/herself
• Se nós nos detivéssemos – If we stopped ourselves
• Se vós vos detivésseis – If you (plural) stopped yourselves
• Se eles/elas se detivessem – If they stopped themselves

Examples of sentences:
1. Ele se deteve antes de dizer algo que pudesse magoar os outros.
(He stopped himself before saying something that might hurt others.)

2. Eu me detenho sempre que sinto que estou prestes a agir impulsivamente.
(I hold myself back whenever I feel I am about to act impulsively.)

3. Se ela se detivesse, evitaria muitos problemas desnecessários.
(If she stopped herself, she would avoid many unnecessary problems.)

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