"A mulher levantou a mesa."

Translation: The woman raised the table.

[anachron]

Could this be taken to mean "the woman cleared the table"?

[ingina]

"levantar a mesa" is an idiomatic expression and means to clear away the table, comfirmed by a native portuguese speaker (Europe).

[Kikilangar]

Thank you. Duolingo really needs to separate all the idiomatic expressions into its own segment. There's no way to figure out that it means "to clear the table" - so, thanks to all the native speakers.

[SilentAnnie]

I agree with you totally Kiki

[adrianojp2000]

It is not a idiomatic expression in Brazilian portuguese.

[espeekespanish]

So what does this mean then?

[deactivated user]

ingina:...same in Spanish! (Mexican native speaker) Which is why I wrote "cleared the table". Maybe Duolingo could mark these idiomatic expressions with some symbol or whatever, just let us know that this is definitely idiomatic and not literal :-)

[deactivated user]

Still not resolved. I'll report (again)

[luchomein]

look at adrianojp2000 response to that right above you

[kerenperla]

Yeah, I guess the correct translation would be " the woman picked up the table.. "

[..BATMAN..]

tirar a mesa = clear the table
levantar a mesa = to lift the table

sentar-se à mesa = you sit on a chair and do something on the table
levantar-se da mesa = you get up from the chair

[Rossito1234]

There seems to be a difference between Portugal and Brazil in this case.

'Tirar a mesa' in Portugal usually means 'remove the table', i.e. remove the table from the living room. It could be used to mean 'clear the table', but 'levantar a mesa' is more common.

[..BATMAN..]

oh, we use 'tirar a mesa' with the meaning of 'remove the table' too. There are two meanings.

[clovis10alberto]

Or take the table

[rosnerjeanne]

Hm, that's what I put too. If she lifted the table, that means she stole it, or if she raised the table, perhaps she is a medium. Not very clear.

[birdfishy]

Don't be facetious! You know we have no sense of humour!

[MoiraBenso1]

In one of the Shrek movies theres a table that can be raised or lowered

[OrchidBlack]

I figured this meant she was playing poker and raised the bet.

[moraima_d]

Maybe is a small table and she lifted it to clean underneath

[lolaphilologist]

Yeah, I don't know either. It's a weird sentence in English.

[vitorbdiniz]

I don't know in other countries that speak Portuguese, but here in Brazil this sentence is also weird.

[Hyranbernardes]

I'm brazilian and I didn't imagine that "raised the table" is cleaned the table. Thanks Portguese friends

[mairut4]

The woman is surely Ron Weasley's mother, a witch.

[Diego816570]

May the phrase should be: A mulher se levantou e deixou a mesa (she raised and left the table, or something similar)... Just an idea... It would make more sense...

[birdfishy]

I would say "lifted up the table" (as a native speaker).

[RosinaKeri]

Sounds like that woman has been summoning demons maybe..haha