Portuguese Phrase
Como você motivou os outros?
Meaning
The sentence asks someone to explain the ways they encouraged or inspired other people. It focuses on past actions, so the speaker wants to hear concrete examples of motivation that already happened.
When to use
Use this question in a professional setting (team meeting, performance review), in a classroom when discussing leadership, or in casual conversation when you’re curious about a friend’s recent experience helping others.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Comovocêmotivouosoutros?
Como (How)
‘Como’ is an interrogative adverb meaning ‘how’. It is placed at the beginning of a question.
Você (you)
‘Você’ is the informal singular pronoun for ‘you’ in Brazilian Portuguese.
Motivou (motivated)
‘Motivou’ is the third‑person singular preterite of the verb ‘motivar’, used here because the subject ‘você’ triggers the 3rd‑person form in past tense.
Os outros (others)
‘Os outros’ means ‘the others’ or ‘other people’. The definite article ‘os’ agrees in gender and number with ‘outros’.
Question mark
In Portuguese, the interrogative sentence is marked only with the final ‘?’, unlike English which uses only one punctuation mark.
🗨In Conversation
Como você motivou os outros?
How did you motivate the others?
Eu compartilhei minhas metas, ofereci feedback positivo e organizei um desafio semanal.
I shared my goals, gave positive feedback, and organized a weekly challenge.
✕Common Mistakes
Como você motiva os outros?
The verb must be in the preterite (motivou) because the question refers to a completed action. Using the present ‘motiva’ would change the meaning to ‘How do you motivate…’
Como você motivou outros?
If you want a more informal tone, you can drop the article and say ‘outros’, but the standard form includes ‘os’. Omitting it in formal writing sounds incomplete.
Como cê motivou os outros?
In very informal speech among close friends, Brazilians often replace ‘você’ with ‘cê’. However, in a written or professional context, keep ‘você’.
↔Alternatives
De que forma você inspirou as pessoas?
In what way did you inspire the people?
Como você conseguiu animar o grupo?
How did you manage to cheer up the group?
O que você fez para motivar os demais?
What did you do to motivate the rest?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, leadership is often expressed through personal example and informal encouragement rather than strict hierarchy. When asking this question, it’s polite to show genuine interest and avoid sounding accusatory. Adding a friendly smile or a brief compliment (e.g., “Admiro sua energia”) helps keep the tone supportive.