I got really curious about the use of por in Portuguese. Google Translates por as a long list of words: by, for, per, in, of, to, with, via, out of, for the sake of ETC. Confusing to say the very least. While true that por can translate as all of the above, I’ve found that…
Read more...You can score BIG points just being able to meet & greet in Brazil. Before you even know how to say anything else, learn these. Use them to practice your pronunciatiion – you’ll be using them over and over. For example — Tudo bem is the main thing everyone says when seeing someone you know…
Read more...I am with luck. That is literally how you would say “I’m lucky” in Brazilian Portuguese: eu estou com sorte. estar com (beginner) In Brazilian Portuguese it’s important to remember that this special combination of ESTAR + COM is used to say things like: I’m hungry. > Eu estou com fome. I’m thirsty. > Eu…
Read more...You need to learn Portuguese because you have to visit Brazil before you die. Just as in English, there are two ways to express need. Each has its own specific way of being used. (1) precisar PRECISAR = to need. Precisar is a little tricky because you must always put a “de” after it unless…
Read more...Words that connect us. In this first of a series of posts we are going to talk about those words & phrases that are always there — holding the sentence together. Tudo bem? In grammar-speak, these are called conjunctions. Do not be afraid. They are your friends. You already use them all-the-time 😉 Aditivas: Indicam…
Read more...Vamos emobra! When Brazilian’s say goodbye. IN ORDER OF USAGE (most common first) — the ways Brazilians say good-bye. (1) Tchau! (2) eu vou embora EMBORA = away. Eu vou embora. = I’m going away (leaving). Most dictionaries list this as: em•bo•ra | {conj.} (apesar de; ainda que; ainda) That’s because this is an expression…
Read more...In English it’s pretty simple: something or nothing. The Portuguese options are (surprise) numerous and confusing. Let’s break-these-down and make these more user-friendly. You’ve learned alguma coisa, right? And that’s clear: alguma (some) coisa (thing) = something. But you rarely hear Brazilians say that. There are other options they favor – most depend on what…
Read more...You have to do this, you have to do that. This is a must-know! The good news: It’s easy to express to have to in Portuguese. The key is knowing how to conjugate the verb TER. ter to have I have eu tenh o you/he/she has você/ele/ela tem In Portuguese, you add a que to…
Read more...We all have our own unsolved mysteries about SAMBA, right? Do you really have to go to a samba school to learn samba? Is there some store where you buy those outfits? Can men samba too? Does it mean you’re gay if you do? It’s just like salsa – but with less clothing? It just…
Read more...Intermediate Think of all the ways we use the word, first. It’s the first building on the right. We wanted to talk to you first. I’m always first in line. I liked the first album better. Primeiro, primeira in Portuguese (first) can take the meaning of before as well as literally: the first. The unusual…
Read more...There’s this perception that Brazilians enjoy a drink. Verdade ou mito? VERDADE. It’s the weather. Imagine if all the skanky bars in your town were open air, tables spilling out onto the sidewalk where you could instantly see smiling people with cold drinks. I bet you’d stop by at least once in a while. That’s…
Read more...How do Brazilians use FALAR and DIZER? Is there really a difference?
Read more...It took me forever to learn how to express the idea of to suppose or, to assume. I would always wind up using achar or, imagniar — both of which really don’t mean the same thing. The solution is simple, elegant – and rare: SUPOR in Portuguese means to suppose. A verb ending in -or! These…
Read more...There are three ways that Brazilians ask, “what happened?”: (1) O que aconteceu?; (2) O que foi?; (3) O que houve? (verb HAVER). And they often mix these together! Ordered by popularity they are: O que aconteceu? You’ll often hear it said like this: O que é que aconteceu. = literally: What is (it) that…
Read more...PODER in Portuguese Surely one of the most powerful verbs. Nothing happens without it. Why then you ask, does it have to be so tricky? It doesn’t have to be. Let’s de-construct poder by looking at how it’s most commonly used. Standard use in the simple present tense looks like this. Can you go? >>…
Read more...Have you decided what will be the first real sentence you try to speak? “Bom dia” and “Tudo bem” don’t count. Something useful. Something that will help you on your travels in Brazil and start a simple conversation. For me it was this: Você sabe onde fica…? Perfect, right? >> “Where is whatever (located)?” This…
Read more...Most verbs have various related incarnations as nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc. MELHOR and MELHORAR are super-used words/verbs but also causes big confusion – I think just because these are (1) hard to pronounce, and (2) have so many similar sounding variations. Melhor and melhorar can be used in different ways to express: improve, improvement, improving,…
Read more...It’s confusing to say TO THINK in Portuguese. That’s mostly because there are two verbs for it: PENSAR & ACHAR. Let’s clear up the confusion with examples. ACHAR or PENSAR? :: TO THINK in Portuguese Most books will tell you that it’s Ok to use either. That may be grammatically correct, but it does not…
Read more...Mais (more) finds it’s way into many expressions, always assuming the role of saying most or, more. Let’s look at one of the most useful ways mais in Portuguese can say things like: prettier, heavier, younger and etc. (ie, as an adjective). Examples of mais to express most can be found in this other post….
Read more...The Portuguese preposition de shows up in many different places. As you know — I HATE to dig into grammar-speak unless it’s really necessary to move you into Portuguese fluency. So, I won’t. But, let me just say that it’s worth being said that a preposition is a word that ties others together. Each language…
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