optando

Optando is the gerund (gerúndio) of the Portuguese verb optar, meaning to choose or decide to do something. It denotes an ongoing action of choosing and is used to express a process or to introduce a subordinate clause describing the chosen course of action. In standard Brazilian and European Portuguese, optando commonly appears with the auxiliary estar to form progressive tenses (estar optando) and with the preposition por to indicate the selected option (optar por).

Usage examples illustrate its function. Ela está optando por uma abordagem mais sustentável. O Ministério está optando por medidas de curto prazo. Optando por reduzir custos, a empresa anunciou o fechamento de uma unidade. These constructions show how optando highlights the act of choosing in the moment or as a stated path.

Etymology and grammar notes: optando derives from the verb optar, which comes from Latin optāre, related to the root opt-. The standard infinitive is optar, with optando as the gerund and optado as the past participle used in perfect tenses. The gerund form is not freely interchangeable with the noun opção (option) or with synonyms like escolher; it mainly signals ongoing selection or a described choice.

In terms of usage, optando is more common in formal or descriptive writing and in speech that emphasizes the process of choosing a specific path, policy, or method. It should be paired with por to express the chosen option, as in optar por.