eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática

English translation: I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática
English translation:I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit
Entered by: Matheus Chaud

19:03 Nov 10, 2023
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / schooling
Portuguese term or phrase: eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática
I know this is a whole sentence; however, it is an idiom.
In Portuguese, it means that you know something by experience rather than by training ...

thank you all in advance
Bett
Local time: 19:41
I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit
Explanation:

Tentativa de manter o sentido e a rima, conforme a excelente observação do Mario.
Selected response from:

Matheus Chaud
Brazil
Local time: 19:41
Grading comment
thank you
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2I know how to / I can do it in practice, not in theory
Oliver Simões
4 +1I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit
Matheus Chaud
4I learned [it] in the school of hard knocks
Yuri Toledo
4I know how to do it in practice, but I don't know how to do it in theory
Carolina Falcao
4I can do this in practice, but not by the book
Lara Barnett
5 -1I can do this in the manner, but not in grammar
Antônio Souza
3I can do it practically, but not gramatically
Mario Freitas


Discussion entries: 12





  

Answers


41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
I know how to / I can do it in practice, not in theory


Explanation:
In my Google searches, I have found no references to "fazer na prática" and "fazer na gramática" combined. My guess is that "gramática" was used just to rhyme with "práctica", it does not have any particular meaning. It is a filler or an empty word so to speak.

It doesn't sound like this term phrase is an idiom, it might be a saying, although I have never heard it. I would translate it as "I know how to / I can do it in practice, not in theory" or something along those lines.

To the extent that grammar is something we normally learn in school, I guess "theory" might be a good replacement.

Example Sentences

"I told you in detail how to do it in practice, not in theory." https://www.reddit.com/r/STDupont/comments/vo7u5c/what_tool_...

I knew this wasn't right, and it was my job to evangelize UX, but I needed to do it in practice, not in theory. https://www.red-gate.com/blog/working/ux-design-job-at-redga...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 42 mins (2023-11-10 19:45:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Correction: prática

Oliver Simões
United States
Local time: 15:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jéssica Trombini
1 hr
  -> Obrigado, Jessica.

agree  Andrew Bramhall
14 hrs
  -> Thank you, Andrew.

agree  Breno Gomez
21 hrs
  -> Obrigado, Breno.

disagree  Antônio Souza: A pessoa se esforçou toda pra fazer uma frase com rima, e sua tradução simplesmente aniquila a rima? De jeito nenhum
5 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
I learned [it] in the school of hard knocks


Explanation:
This conveys the same idea as the phrase in Portuguese. I put "it" in brackets because you might want to replace it with whatever is the skill/trade/activity in question. For example, you can use "I learned the language in the school of hard knocks" IF that is the case here. From the context information provided, it's hard to tell what exactly it is.

Yuri Toledo
Brazil
Local time: 19:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Muriel Vasconcellos
2 hrs
  -> Muito obrigado!

neutral  Oliver Simões: Tenho esta expressão traduzida em meu dicionário idiomático como "escola da vida", que também pode ser expressa por "university of life".
4 hrs
  -> "School of hard knocks" é uma proposta válida porque "escola da vida" é semanticamente compatível com "aprendi por experiência".

disagree  philgoddard: I think you must be misunderstanding this phrase. We don't know the context, but there no way this can be correct. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Hard_Knocks
9 hrs
  -> It is plausible, given the stated context. From your source: "a response [...] if they do not have an extensive formal education but rather life experiences".

agree  Laeticia Maris: This does seem to work well in the context. The only downside is that it won't keep the rhyme, although the idea itself is there.
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!

disagree  Antônio Souza: Onde está a rima do original?
5 days
  -> O autor usou o marcador de expressão idiomática e explicou o porquê na discussão. Esta proposta contempla o raciocínio ao manter uma expressão no inglês.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
I can do it practically, but not gramatically


Explanation:
Neste caso, é preciso manter a rima, senão destoa do original.

Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 19:41
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Clauwolf: nunca vi isso, talvez seja empregado na China
11 hrs
  -> Não é uma expressão idiomática, Cláudio.

neutral  Mark Robertson: Da maneira como escreveu, na prática e practically são amigos falsos. Practically quer dizer quase. Teria de perder a rima e escrever in practice.
1 day 16 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
I know how to do it in practice, but I don't know how to do it in theory


Explanation:
The phrase "Eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática" in Portuguese can be translated to English as:

"I know how to do it in practice, but I don't know how to do it in theory."

This expression is often used to convey the idea that someone has practical experience or skills in a certain area, but they might struggle to articulate or explain the theoretical or grammatical aspects of it.

Carolina Falcao
Brazil
Local time: 19:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Mario Freitas: Apenas passando para informar que postar uma resposta igual a outra que já foi postada, mudando alguns termos, é uma prática comum entre os novatos aqui, mas nunca deu resultados. Por que não dar um "Agree" ao colega que já postou?
4 hrs

agree  Adrian MM.: AmE: (noun) practise
21 hrs

disagree  Antônio Souza: Onde está a rima do original?
4 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
I can do this in practice, but not by the book


Explanation:
This is what I'd say. I have joined two very common idioms, and they work well together in my opinion. Theory in this case, would come across slightly in English as a false friend here I would say, so best to use an idiom such as this.

"DO SOMETING BY THE BOOK"
or go by the book
...to do something correctly and strictly, following all the rules:
"Modern man is often dull, studious, careful, safe. He does everything by the book."
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/do-some...

"IN PRACTICE
Phrase:
What happens in practice is what actually happens, in contrast to what is supposed to happen.
In actual practice, of course, it's more complicated.
In practice, workers do not work to satisfy their needs."
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/in-prac...

Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Antônio Souza: Onde está a rima do original?
1 day 58 mins

agree  Oliver Simões: Clearly, there is no point in maintaining rhymes in detriment of meaning.
2 days 2 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática
I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit


Explanation:

Tentativa de manter o sentido e a rima, conforme a excelente observação do Mario.

Matheus Chaud
Brazil
Local time: 19:41
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
thank you

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira: Muito bom!
13 mins
  -> Obrigado, Luciano!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
I can do this in the manner, but not in grammar


Explanation:
A única sugestão correta até agora, que traduz gramática corretamente e conserva o traço mais importante do texto fonte, que é a sonoridade

Antônio Souza
Brazil
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Lara Barnett: This is highly ungrammatical and does not sound idiomatic in terms of natural English language. There is no point in compromising natural English usage and phrasing, simply for the sake of a rhyme.
4 hrs

neutral  Oliver Simões: In this context, "grammar" makes no sense to a native speaker. I read somewhere that literal translations are hardly ever recommended, which I don't quite agree with. In some cases, it's better to go literal but not here.
1 day 1 hr
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search