In Portuguese, there are several ways to refer to something that happened in the past, each with varying shades of meaning. Verb tenses! The Past Imperfect – officially called the Imperfect Indicative (o Pretérito Imperfeito), is used when talking about continuous or ongoing action in the past. Something that used to occur or, would occur. You’ll…
Read more...por acaso » by chance Simônimos » inesperadamente, acidentalmente, casualmente, aleatoriamente, arbitrariamente Exemplo: Encontrei meus primos no festival por acaso. Não tínhamos combinado nada. » I met my cousins at the festival by chance. We hadn’t arranged anything. de propósito » on purpose Simônimos » deliberadamente, intencionalmente Exemplo: O propósito da vida é seguir a…
Read more...IR has to be one of the FUNNEST (most fun) verbs to conjugate into the preterite tense (the “simple past” – action that is over and done). SAY IT: eu fui, você foi. FUI, FOI – these are of course just ways to say I went, you/he/she went. It’s the past tense for action that…
Read more...To say “without stopping” it’s just sem – without- plus the verb (almost any verb) in it’s infinitive form. You can use this format to say things like, sem falar, sem pagar, sem pensar, sem perguntar and so on. Very useful. sem falar = without saying sem pagar = without paying sem pensar = without…
Read more...Brazilian Portuguese by Semantica – video course for all levels.
Read more...What is the Portuguese JEITO? It’s just an expression: JEITO = way, as in: let’s find a way. It’s somewhat notorious because Brazil has been known as the place where anything is possible. This comes mostly from the recent past in which one could for example, buy their way into a green card, bribe someone…
Read more...In the previous post we talked about this verb tense — the imperfect subjunctive, as well. So many of you have asked to see even more examples of this super-useful grammar trick so: aqui estão! (here they are!) the Imperfect Subjunctive is insanely great. Even better with the Conditional! And BTW, only language professors need…
Read more...The subjunctive mood has been known to break students. Every serious Portuguese student runs straight into it. Some get hurt. Do not let that happen to you! The Portuguese Subjunctive is actually a rose with thorns. It’s a beautiful part of the language that should be embraced and used with style, for it is truly…
Read more...Assim is the 90th most used word in the Portuguese language! Assim has two main meanings: Assim in Portuguese = like this, like that I’m like this/that. > Eu sou assim. The verb SER is used because this is a permamnent condition. We’re like this/that > Nós somos assim. I just wanted to show the…
Read more...Now is a very good time to study Portuguese at home 😉 Take advantage of this time – it’s going to be over soon, believe it, or not. 30% off all memberships during the first phase of the pandemic. I’m old enough to remember the lan house. And in Brazil – especially the favelas you…
Read more...Now is a very good time to study Portuguese at home 😉 Need a discount to get started? Use coupon code: COVID-19 30% off all memberships. As long as everyone is talking about the Coronavirus, let’s learn how to talk about the Coronavirus in Brazil – em Português! How many cases are there now in…
Read more...How do Brazilians use FALAR and DIZER? Is there really a difference?
Read more...We’ve written about ACABAR de before — because it’s such a useful combination. When you place a de after acabar, it takes on the meaning of, to have just. ACABAR by itself means to end, to end-up, to finish. I’ve noticed that so many of you are getting these two forms mixed-up (confundida). A few…
Read more...Using the Imperfect Subjunctive In general, The subjunctive tense is used when the action you’re talking about has a degree of uncertainty. The Imperfect Subjunctive is used for actions that are very unlikely to happen, or to have happened. It’s sometimes called, the Past Subjunctive – that’s because it often talks about things that were unlikely…
Read more...Use The future subjunctive is used to talk about future actions that are not completely sure to happen. Such as, As soon as I get off work, I’ll call you. When I get to the beach, we’ll go surfing. If you talk to Raquel, tell her I’m at home. In Portuguese these become, Assim que…
Read more...Ter in the Future Tense The common way is to use the verb ir as a helper verb (the future tense with ir) Eu vou ter mais tempo amanhã. > I’m going to have more time tomorrow. Ele vai ter que correr. > He’s going to have to run. Você vai ter uma namorada nova….
Read more...I think this is the best example. It’s so natural. From the new Novela (o Retorno) The scene: Lucas has to spend the night in Unkle Leo’s room. Leo: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Line-by-line: (1) Eu ensino para você. >> I’ll teach you. (2) Eu vou te ensinar. >> I’m going to teach you….
Read more...Prerequisite Reading: Portuguese verb TER. Superpowers? Sim, TER has superpowers. Though these are considered advanced-level, any ambitious learner can start using them now! Just keep in mind that the conjugation of TER is very irregular. Let’s start with the most used: The Imperative of Ter You will hear these all_the_time: Tenha um bom dia! >…
Read more...Portuguese verb TER is among the top 10 most important verbs. It’s conjugation is very irregular. The very first sentence I used in Brazil was, Você tem o jornal de hoje?. I asked it at a newsstand! I came off pretty nervous sounding. But it was a successful first try. I managed to pronounce the…
Read more...Even I struggle to get this straight. The thing that makes this tricky: In Portuguese, we’re constantly reminding you to get your gender straight. And I’m not talking about your sexual preference here não! It’s a constant struggle to keep word gender correct, certo? Muito or Muita? Minha cerveja está gelada. Meu vinho está gelado….
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