"Underneath" or "Underneath"? The use of one or another expression will depend on the meaning we want to give to a sentence. Thus, “underneath” is a adverb and means the same as "below". Already “from below” can be a adjective phrase, when qualifying a noun; yet, the term “low”, contained in this expression, can also function as an adverb.
Read too: Under or over?
Summary of under and under
- “Underneath” is an adverb that indicates a place below something or someone.
- “De Baixo” is an expression formed by the preposition “de” plus the adjective or adverb “low”.
- “Underneath” and “underneath” are synonyms and indicate that something or someone is under something or someone.
- The expression “embelow” indicates the way something happens, although “low”, in this case, is an adjective and not an adverb.
Underneath or Underneath: What's the Difference?
THE The word “underneath” is an adverb and refers to a place situated below something or someone:
The dead fly was under the book.
She looked at the sheet under Marcos.
The expression “from below” is composed of the preposition “of” plus the adjective or adverb “under”:
The downstairs room is wider than the one here.
Get under the table!
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When to use underneath?
The adverb “underneath” indicates a place below of something or someone:
The boy hid under the bed.
Ivo was playing under the table.
Elke saw a cockroach under the closet.
She had a shirt under Mario.
Thus, the term "under" can be replaced by "under":
The boy hid under the bed.
Ivo was playing under the table.
Elke saw a cockroach under the closet.
Had a shirt under Mario.
When to use bottom?
- Preposition “de” plus adjective “low”:
The downstairs neighbor is very troublesome.
That book on the bottom, there on the shelf, is much better.
In these two examples, “from below” qualifies the nouns “neighbor” and “book”.
- Preposition “de” plus the adverb “under”:
I came from below and I don't give up that easy.
Today I don't get out from under the blankets for nothing!
In both cases, the verbs require the use of the preposition “de” and “under” is an adverb of place.
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Some related questions
under x under
“Underneath” and “underneath” are synonymous. This means that these words has the same meaning. Thus, they indicate an inferior position in relation to something or someone:
I saw a little mouse under the sofa.
OR
I saw a mouse under the sofa.
The chair was under Luciana.
OR
The chair was under Luciana.
from below x below
The expression “from low” is formed by the preposition “de” plus the adverb of place “low”. Therefore, its use will depend on the verb of the prayer. For example, the verb “to leave” is used with the preposition “de”, because, in some cases, it is possible to say that whoever leaves, leaves FROM somewhere:
She got out from under the car.
The expression “below” is associated with the way something happens, although the word “low”, in this case, is not an adverb, but an adjective, since it agrees with the following term:
Speak in a low voice, please.
Found everything at low price.
Speak in a low voice, please.
The water is at a low temperature.
Exercises solved on under and under
QUESTION 01
In all of the following sentences, the use of “under” or “from under” is correct EXCEPT:
a) The chickens like to scratch under the old orange tree in my backyard.
b) Agenor said that the lower street has the poorest houses in the entire neighborhood.
c) Under the bridge is no place to live, but the mayor seems to ignore it.
d) The day before yesterday, downstairs, there was a party that lasted twenty-four hours.
e) I left home in a storm, but my boss doesn't care.
Resolution:
Alternative “c”
In this case, the expression “under the bridge” has the same meaning as “under the bridge” or “under the bridge”. Therefore, the correct is: “Under the bridge is not a place to live, but it seems that the mayor ignores that”.
QUESTION 02
Read this lyric snippet There is no sin south of the equator, by Chico Buarque and Ruy Guerra:
There is no sin on the side under from the equator
Let's do a naughty sin under of your blanket
Let me be your escracho, doormat, your curl
a stream of love
When it's an esculacho lesson, look at it, get out under
that I am a teacher
Leave the sadness behind, come eat, have dinner with me
Sarapatel, caruru, tucupi, tacacá
See if you use me, abuse me, smear
that your cafuza
Can not wait
[...]
The use of the expressions “from below”, “under” and “from below”, highlighted in the text, can be justified as follows:
a) Preposition “de” plus the adverb “bass”/adverb equivalent to “embaixo”/preposition “de” plus the adjective “bass”.
b) Preposition “de” plus the adjective “bass”/adverb equivalent to “embaixo”/preposition “de” plus the adverb “bass”.
c) Adverb equivalent to “embelow”/preposition “de” plus the adjective “bass”/preposition “de” plus the adverb “low”.
d) Adverb equivalent to “embelow”/preposition “de” plus the adverb “bass”/preposition “de” plus the adjective “low”.
e) Preposition “de” plus the adverb “Bass”/Preposition “de” plus the adjective “Bass”/Adverb equivalent to “Embaixo”.
Resolution:
Alternative “b”
In “side debas”, we have the preposition “de” plus the adjective “low”, in order to qualify the noun “side”. The phrase “under your blanket” can be rewritten, without prejudice to meaning, as follows: “under your blanket”. Finally, in “sai de Baixo”, it is possible to point out the preposition “de” and the adverb of place “low”; because, in this case, whoever leaves, leaves somewhere, that is, comes out from below.
Video lesson on 5 frequently asked questions about the Portuguese language
By Warley Souza
Grammar teacher
