I WAS LET GO.
👉I was fired (fui demitido).
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.
👉Aqui se faz, aqui se paga.
I AM GOING TO GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND
👉Eu vou dizer pra ele o que penso (com raiva).
OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
👉De cabeça/ sem pensar muito.
I WON’T TAKE THE BLAME FOR THAT.
👉Eu não vou levar a culpa por isso.
CAN WE BOTH AGREE THAT THIS IS WRONG?
👉Dá pra gente concordar que isso está errado?
I WAS LET GO
“I was let go” means “I was fired” or “I lost my job.”
👉 Portuguese: Fui demitido(a). / Fui dispensado(a).
However, let go is often a softer and more polite way to say fired. It can also suggest that the decision was made by the company because of restructuring, budget cuts, or other business reasons—not necessarily because the employee did something wrong.
Examples:
- I was let go last week.
👉 Fui demitido(a) na semana passada. - Unfortunately, they let me go after five years with the company.
👉 Infelizmente, eles me demitiram depois de cinco anos na empresa. - A lot of employees were let go because of budget cuts.
👉 Muitos funcionários foram demitidos por causa de cortes no orçamento. - She was let go when the company downsized.
👉 Ela foi demitida quando a empresa reduziu o quadro de funcionários. - He was let go, but it wasn’t because of poor performance.
👉 Ele foi demitido, mas não foi por causa de baixo desempenho. - The company had to let several people go.
👉 A empresa teve que demitir várias pessoas.
Compare:
- I was fired. → Fui demitido.
🔹 More direct. It can imply that the person was dismissed because of poor performance or misconduct. - I was let go. → Fui dispensado / demitido.
🔹 Softer and sometimes less specific about the reason. - I was laid off. → Fui demitido por corte/redução de pessoal.
🔹 Usually means the job was eliminated for economic or business reasons, not because of the employee’s performance.
Example:
I wasn’t fired—I was laid off because the company was downsizing.
👉 Eu não fui demitido por justa causa ou por mau desempenho — fui dispensado porque a empresa estava reduzindo o quadro de funcionários.
A very natural question you could ask someone is:
“What happened? Were you fired, or were you let go because the company was downsizing?”
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
This expression means:
👉 The way you treat other people will eventually come back to you.
In other words, if you do something good, good things may come back to you; if you do something bad, the consequences may eventually come back to you.
Portuguese equivalents:
- Aqui se faz, aqui se paga.
- Tudo o que vai, volta.
- Quem planta, colhe. (depending on the context)
Examples:
- He lied to and cheated a lot of people. Now nobody trusts him. What goes around comes around.
👉 Ele mentiu e enganou muitas pessoas. Agora ninguém confia nele. Aqui se faz, aqui se paga. - She was always kind to everyone, and when she needed help, everyone was there for her. What goes around comes around.
👉 Ela sempre foi gentil com todos e, quando precisou de ajuda, todos estavam lá para ajudá-la. O bem que ela fez voltou para ela. - Don’t worry about getting revenge. What goes around comes around.
👉 Não se preocupe em se vingar. Aqui se faz, aqui se paga. - He treated his employees terribly, and eventually, he lost all of his best workers. What goes around comes around.
A very natural way to use it:
Karma, right? What goes around comes around.
Here, karma is used informally to express the idea that people eventually experience the consequences of their actions.
You can also say:
- What goes around always comes around.
- Sooner or later, what goes around comes around.
- You get what you give. → Você recebe aquilo que dá.
I’M GOING TO GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND
This expression means:
👉 I’m going to tell him exactly what I think, especially because I’m angry or upset with him.
Portuguese equivalents:
- Vou falar umas verdades para ele.
- Vou dar uma bronca nele.
- Vou falar poucas e boas para ele.
- Vou dizer umas verdades na cara dele. (depending on the context)
Examples:
- He lied to me again! I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.
👉 Ele mentiu para mim de novo! Vou falar umas verdades para ele. - The customer was extremely rude to me. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind.
👉 O cliente foi extremamente grosseiro comigo. Eu queria falar umas verdades para ele. - If my boss treats me like that again, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!
👉 Se meu chefe me tratar assim de novo, vou falar poucas e boas para ele! - She gave the manager a piece of her mind after waiting for two hours.
👉 Ela falou umas verdades para o gerente depois de esperar por duas horas.
⚠️ Important!
It doesn’t literally mean giving someone a piece of your mind. It’s an idiomatic expression meaning that you are going to express your anger or strong opinion very directly.
Common structure:
give someone a piece of your mind
- I gave him a piece of my mind.
- She gave her neighbor a piece of her mind.
- They’re going to give the company a piece of their minds.
💡 Similar expression:
Tell someone off = dar uma bronca em alguém / repreender alguém
- I’m going to tell him off!
👉 Vou dar uma bronca nele! / Vou falar poucas e boas para ele!
The tone of give someone a piece of your mind is usually strong, angry, and confrontational.
OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD
This expression means:
👉 Without thinking for very long or checking any information.
You say it when you give an answer based only on what you can remember at that moment.
Portuguese equivalents:
- De cabeça
- Assim, de cabeça
- De imediato, pelo que me lembro
Examples:
- Off the top of my head, I can think of three good reasons.
👉 Assim, de cabeça, consigo pensar em três bons motivos. - I can’t remember her phone number off the top of my head.
👉 Não consigo lembrar o número de telefone dela de cabeça. - How many students are in your class?
Off the top of my head, I’d say about 20.
👉 Assim, de cabeça, eu diria que uns 20. - Can you recommend a good movie?
Well, off the top of my head, I’d suggest The Shawshank Redemption.
👉 Bem, de cabeça, eu sugeriria The Shawshank Redemption. - I don’t know the exact date off the top of my head.
👉 Eu não sei a data exata de cabeça.
Common expressions:
- Off the top of my head, … → Assim, de cabeça…
- I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.
👉 Não consigo pensar em nada de imediato / de cabeça. - I don’t know, not off the top of my head.
👉 Não sei, não assim de cabeça.
💡 Important: We usually use this expression when we haven’t checked or researched the information. You’re giving an answer based on your immediate memory.
“How much did it cost?”
“I don’t know off the top of my head, but I can check.”
👉 Não sei de cabeça, mas posso verificar.
I WON’T TAKE THE BLAME FOR THAT.
This means:
👉 I refuse to accept responsibility for that.
👉 I’m not going to accept the blame for that.
Portuguese equivalents:
- Não vou assumir a culpa por isso.
- Não vou levar a culpa por isso.
- Não vou assumir a responsabilidade por isso.
- A culpa disso não é minha. (depending on the context)
Examples:
- I won’t take the blame for something I didn’t do.
👉 Não vou assumir a culpa por algo que não fiz. - It wasn’t my decision, so I won’t take the blame for that.
👉 Não foi uma decisão minha, então não vou assumir a culpa por isso. - Everyone made mistakes, but somehow I’m the one taking the blame.
👉 Todo mundo cometeu erros, mas, de alguma forma, sou eu quem está levando a culpa. - I’m willing to help fix the problem, but I won’t take the blame for it.
👉 Estou disposto(a) a ajudar a resolver o problema, mas não vou assumir a culpa por ele.
💡 Important distinction
Take the blame = assumir/levar a culpa
She took the blame for the mistake.
Ela assumiu a culpa pelo erro.
Take responsibility = assumir responsabilidade
He took responsibility for what happened.
Ele assumiu a responsabilidade pelo que aconteceu.
So, “I won’t take the blame for that” is particularly useful when someone is trying to make you responsible for something you don’t believe is your fault.
CAN WE BOTH AGREE THAT THIS IS WRONG?
This means:
👉 Can we agree that this is wrong?
👉 Podemos concordar que isso está errado?
The word both emphasizes that the two people involved share the same opinion.
Examples:
- Can we both agree that this isn’t working?
👉 Podemos concordar que isso não está funcionando? - Can we both agree that we need to find a solution?
👉 Podemos concordar que precisamos encontrar uma solução? - Can we both agree that this was a bad idea?
👉 Podemos concordar que isso foi uma má ideia? - Can we both agree that something needs to change?
👉 Podemos concordar que alguma coisa precisa mudar?
💡 Why use both?
Compare:
Can we agree that this is wrong?
→ Podemos concordar que isso está errado?
Can we both agree that this is wrong?
→ Nós dois podemos concordar que isso está errado?
The second one emphasizes mutual agreement.
It can also have a slightly confrontational or persuasive tone, especially in an argument:
Come on, can we both agree that this is wrong?
👉 Vamos admitir, nós dois podemos concordar que isso está errado, não podemos?
Another useful expression:
We can both agree that…
= Nós dois podemos concordar que…
We can both agree that this situation isn’t ideal.
👉 Nós dois podemos concordar que essa situação não é ideal.
Exercise – Complete the sentences
Use the expressions from the box. You may need to change the pronoun or verb form.
Expressions:
- I was let go
- What goes around comes around
- give someone a piece of your mind
- off the top of my head
- take the blame
- Can we both agree that…?
- I lost my job last month. The company was cutting costs, so _____________________.
- “How many people work in that company?”
“__________________________, I’d say around 500.” - “He lied to everyone and eventually people stopped trusting him.”
“Well, __________________________.” - “You didn’t make that mistake, so __________________________ for it.”
- “I’m really angry with my neighbor. I’m going to __________________________.”
- “We’ve been arguing for an hour. __________________________ this isn’t working?”
- She was very upset after the meeting, so she __________________________ to her manager.
- “How many countries have you visited?”
“__________________________, maybe ten or twelve.” - The company closed one of its departments, and several employees __________________________.
- “He treated his friends terribly, and now nobody wants to help him.”
“Exactly. __________________________.”
Challenge – Complete the mini-dialogues
- A: Why aren’t you working at that company anymore?
B: __________________________. They were downsizing. - A: Who should be responsible for this mistake?
B: Not me! __________________________. - A: What do you think we should do?
B: __________________________, I think we should talk to the manager. - A: Your brother was extremely rude to me!
B: Really? I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him.
A: No, I’m going to __________________________ myself! - A: He cheated his business partner and made a lot of money.
B: Don’t worry. __________________________.
Answer Key
- I was let go.
- Off the top of my head, I’d say around 500.
- Well, what goes around comes around.
- You didn’t make that mistake, so don’t take the blame for it.
- I’m really angry with my neighbor. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.
- Can we both agree that this isn’t working?
- She was very upset after the meeting, so she gave her manager a piece of her mind.
- Off the top of my head, maybe ten or twelve.
- The company closed one of its departments, and several employees were let go.
- Exactly. What goes around comes around.
Challenge
- I was let go.
- I won’t take the blame for that.
- Off the top of my head, I think we should talk to the manager.
- Give him a piece of my mind.
- What goes around comes around.