Portuguese Phrase
Um amigo me apresentou a isso.
Meaning
The sentence means “A friend introduced me to this.” It conveys that the speaker learned about or was shown something thanks to a friend’s suggestion or demonstration.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to explain how you discovered a new song, a book, a hobby, a place, or any other thing because a friend pointed it out to you.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Umamigomeapresentouaisso
Indefinite article agreement
"Um" agrees in gender and number with the masculine singular noun "amigo".
Clitic pronoun placement
In the preterite, the object pronoun "me" is placed before the verb: "me apresentou".
Preterite of "apresentar"
"apresentou" is the third‑person singular preterite form of "apresentar" (to introduce).
Preposition "a" before demonstrative
When introducing someone to a thing, Portuguese uses the preposition "a" before the demonstrative pronoun.
"isso" vs "isto"
"isso" refers to something farther from the speaker; "isto" would be used for something close.
🗨In Conversation
Você já ouviu a nova série que todo mundo está comentando?
Have you heard the new series everyone is talking about?
Um amigo me apresentou a isso.
A friend introduced me to it.
✕Common Mistakes
Um amigo me apresentou isso.
The preposition "a" is required before the demonstrative pronoun.
Um amigo apresentou‑me a isso.
While grammatically possible, the enclitic placement sounds formal; native speakers usually prefer the proclitic "me apresentou" in everyday speech.
Um amigo me apresentou a isto.
"isto" refers to something close to the speaker; using it here would change the meaning.
↔Alternatives
Um amigo me mostrou isso.
A friend showed me this.
Um amigo me indicou isso.
A friend recommended this to me.
Um colega me apresentou a isso.
A colleague introduced me to this.
Cultural Tip
In Brazilian Portuguese, "apresentar" is commonly used both for introducing people (apresentar alguém a alguém) and for introducing ideas, products, or experiences (apresentar algo a alguém). When talking about something you discovered through a friend, "me apresentou a isso" sounds natural and informal. Remember that "isso" points to something not physically near you; if the object is right in front of you, you would say "isto" instead.