elevam

Elevam is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Portuguese verb elevar, meaning to raise or lift. It is used with plural subjects, such as eles, elas, or vocês, to denote that they are raising or lifting something in the moment.

Origin and cognates: Elevar comes from Latin elevare, formed from e- (up) and levare (to lift). Related verbs exist in other Romance languages, including elevar in Spanish and elevare in Italian.

Usage: Elevam appears in literal and figurative contexts. Examples include raising physical objects, as in Eles elevam as caixas para colocar no caminhão (They raise the boxes to place them on the truck); or raising or increasing levels or norms, as in Os atletas elevam o nível de desempenho ao longo da temporada (The athletes raise their level of performance over the season). It can also describe raising a volume or voice, as in Eles elevam o tom de voz (They raise their voices).

Conjugation note: In the present indicative, the full paradigm is eu elevo, tu elevas, eleva, nós elevamos, vós eleváis (used in European Portuguese; in Brazilian Portuguese the form is vocês elevam). Elevam specifically corresponds to eles/elas/vocês.

See also: elevar, elevação, elevador.