Portuguese Phrase
Isso dá tempo para a papelada.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘That gives us time for the paperwork.’ It is used to say that a certain action or situation creates a window of time in which the necessary documents can be prepared or processed.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to point out that a delay, a meeting, or a decision provides a useful amount of time to handle administrative tasks. It works well in both casual conversations and semi‑formal work settings.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Issodátempoparaapapelada
Isso (demonstrative pronoun)
Refers to something previously mentioned; works like ‘that’ or ‘this’ in English.
dá (present of dar)
Third‑person singular of the verb ‘dar’ (to give). Here it means ‘provides’ or ‘allows’.
tempo (noun)
Means ‘time’; in this construction it is the thing being given.
para (preposition)
Introduces the purpose or beneficiary of the time – ‘for’ or ‘to’.
a (definite article)
Feminine singular article that matches the gender of ‘papelada’.
papelada (noun, informal)
Colloquial term for paperwork, forms, or bureaucratic documents.
🗨In Conversation
Precisamos entregar o contrato até sexta.
We need to submit the contract by Friday.
Não se preocupe, a reunião foi adiada. Isso dá tempo para a papelada.
Don’t worry, the meeting was postponed. That gives us time for the paperwork.
✕Common Mistakes
Isso dá tempo para o papelada.
‘Papelada’ is feminine, so the article must be ‘a’, not ‘o’.
Isso dá tempo a papelada.
The preposition ‘para’ is required; omitting it makes the sentence sound incomplete.
Isso dá tempo para a documentação.
In very formal contexts you should replace the informal ‘papelada’ with ‘documentação’ or ‘trâmites burocráticos’.
↔Alternatives
Isso nos dá tempo para a papelada.
That gives us time for the paperwork.
Isso permite que façamos a papelada a tempo.
That allows us to do the paperwork on time.
Isso dá margem para a papelada.
That gives a margin for the paperwork.
Cultural Tip
‘Papelada’ is informal Brazilian Portuguese. In formal writing you would use ‘documentação’ or ‘trâmites burocráticos’. Also, the construction ‘dar tempo para + noun’ is common in Brazil to express that something creates a time window, but it sounds a bit colloquial in Portugal.