comportando

Comportando is the gerund form of the Portuguese verb comportar, which can mean to behave, to conduct oneself, or more literally to bear or carry. As a gerund, it denotes an ongoing action or state related to behavior and is typically used with auxiliary verbs to express progressive aspect, especially in informal or colloquial contexts. In reflexive usage, the form appears as comportando-se, meaning “behaving oneself,” with variations in spelling depending on the Portuguese variety (for example, Brazilian Portuguese uses est trato como estai: está se comportando; European Portuguese often uses a with the infinitive: está a comportar-se).

Etymology: Comportar derives from the Latin conportāre, formed from con- (together, with) and portāre (to carry). Over time, its sense broadened from “to carry oneself” or “to conduct oneself” to the modern sense of behavior or conduct.

Usage notes: In Brazilian Portuguese, the progressive sense is commonly expressed with estar + gerund: está se comportando bem. In European Portuguese, the equivalent is often estar a comportar-se. The gerund can also appear in non-progressive constructions to indicate a resultant state or ongoing activity in informal writing, but in formal style the infinitive or other verb forms may be preferred. The word can also appear in phrases like comportar-se (to behave) or in contexts that mean “to entail” or “to involve,” as in isto pode comportar custos adicionais, though the latter usage may be more natural with other verbs in some dialects.

See also: comportamento, comportar-se, comportamento comportamental.