Avançar vs. Adiantar

Portuguese Questions Verbs
1

Hi!!

I don’t understand the difference between Avançar and Adiantar. Are they interchangeable? Do they have different uses?

Thanks!
Dotan

2

In general, avançar means move forward or progress. Some examples:

  • O relógio avançou uma hora. (The clock was moved/set one hour forward)
  • Eu avanço um passo. (I take one step forward)
  • O projeto está a avançar bem. (The project is progressing well)

Usually, adiantar isn’t just about moving forward or progressing, but about doing so in an accelerated timeline, sooner than expected. So, a sentence such as O relógio avançou uma hora is perfectly interchangeable with O relógio adiantou uma hora, but others aren’t necessarily so.

  • O relógio adiantou uma hora. (The clock was moved/set one hour forward)
  • O projeto está adiantado. (The project is ahead of schedule)
  • Eu adiantei o último pagamento. (I paid the last payment ahead of time)
  • Tu adiantaste-te a ele. (You got ahead of him)
3

Thank you, it’s much less confusing now :slight_smile:

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