Is there little or little? Do you know the answer to this question? If you also get all confused when writing, it's time to clear up your doubts and hit the stride with the grammar of the Portuguese language. No despair, no thinking you can't write well: there's nothing we can't learn, especially when we're talking about a language we've mastered since we were little children. Come on?
It is necessary to make it clear that there is no right or wrong in this story, because just by and by are two expressions that exist in our language. Despite being very similar, they have different meanings. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful not to confuse their uses and, thus, avoid harming the construction of the meanings of the message in a text. Just it should be used to indicate elapsed time, that is, something that happened in the past. Just now should be used to indicate time that has not yet elapsed, that is, something that will happen in the future. To be clearer, how about checking out some examples?
Little by little – Examples:
The children get to from school in a little while. (shortly - indicates future tense)
The children They arrived from school just now. (just before – indicates past tense)
My parents turn it pick me up in a little while. (shortly - indicates future tense)
My parents came pick me up just now. (just before – indicates past tense)
Shortly we will go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for lunch. (shortly - indicates future tense)
Just we come back from the supermarket, where we buy ingredients for lunch. (just before – indicates past tense)
Note that in the expression just, the verb be acts like impersonal verb, acquiring the sense of has or does. For this reason, it must be conjugated only in the third person singular: there is. If you want to replace the expression just for equivalent expressions, you can use the following synonyms: right now, just a moment ago (some time agoback is an example of redundancy, avoid it!) or right now.
Just we saw you leaving school.
Just over ten years my parents met in college.
The expression just now is synonymous with soon, soon, soon, soon, in a moment, etc. the preposition The is used to indicate future tense.
Wait for her, she will come from here just now.
We are a few back to school days.
I stop by your house to pick you up from here just now.
Did you see? It's not even that hard! More important than memorizing the rules for using expressions just by and by is to understand the meaning of each one of them to never make mistakes again. Good studies!
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
