Latest Posts » Brazilian Portuguese, by Semantica

Power up the Portuguese verb TER

April 12, 2022May 6, 2025 By James Hall

Portuguese verb TER in the present tense is a huge enabler. Besides saying you have/ she has &ETC you can also express or ask… if something EXISTS. We” present more examples of TER in action and how it expresses ‘to have to’ and ‘to be able to/have a way to.’

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Dar para – the Portuguese power combo

December 9, 2021March 10, 2025 By James Hall

The combination of the Portuguese verb DAR + para is one of the most powerful you will find. Let me show you how… to convey possibilities and abilities. With lots of real-world examples, from making a meal to to asking if something is doable. It’s a unique construction that, along with other special verbs like FICAR, IR, and TER, accelerates language learning and aids in natural conversations.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Saying “about” in Portuguese

October 4, 2021December 31, 2024 By James Hall

Discover the different ways Brazilians express “about” in Portuguese, from “regarding” to “approximately.” Getting a grasp on these expressions is a matter of learning… them in-context and with good examples. 🇧🇷

Pode ser

August 18, 2021February 10, 2025 By James Hall

Pode ser is one of those phrases that finds it’s way into just about every Brazilian conversation. “Pode ser” in Portuguese, can express “maybe,”… “could be,” or “possible,” and using it correctly will put you in charge of the conversation.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

antes & depois in Portuguese

June 4, 2021February 10, 2025 By James Hall

Antes & depois in Portuguese (before & after) work best when followed by a “de”. Put it to work: Vamos para o Brasil antes… de Junho – antes do Carnaval!

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

CONSEGUIR in Portuguese

May 16, 2021February 10, 2025 By James Hall

Brazilians use CONSEGUIR in Portuguese to say: to be able to / can.
ISN’T THIS THE SAME AS PODER? Brazilians use CONSEGUIR rather than PODER… to say for example,

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Pode deixar

May 5, 2021February 12, 2025 By James Hall

Pode deixar in Portuguese translates generally as: leave it to me. It’s one of those phrases that finds it’s way into just about every… conversation here. Let’s look at the most popular ways that real Brazilians use this one.

The future with IR

April 8, 2021November 21, 2024 By James Hall

In Portuguese, the fastest way to start talking about the future is with the verb IR. All you need to know is how to… conjugate IR in it’s present tense. This will give you superpowers to construct useful sentences like “I’m going to swim later today,” “She’s going to be mad!,” and “We’re going to buy the nuclear powered scooter.” Embrace the potential of IR – combine it with ANY VERB and say what’s GOING to happen.

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Portuguese Preposition de

April 5, 2021April 28, 2025 By James Hall

The Portuguese preposition DE shows up in some unexpected places. DE does the heavy lifting of tying words together and shifting meanings. The best… way to get up-to-speed on the superpowers of “de” are by example and CONTEXT🧑🏼‍🔬.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Onde in Portuguese: ONDE, AONDE, DE ONDE, PARA ONDE

March 23, 2021February 10, 2025 By James Hall

Where’s it at? Nowhere to go. Where you from? Where to? ONDE In Portuguese can have these same superpowers. The key to discovering them… is in examining real examples in real context.

(2) Beginning Portuguese

The Portuguese Imperative

March 4, 2021January 7, 2025 By James Hall

The Portuguese Imperative can be confusing! Brazilians simply do not use the imperative in a consistent way! There is however, a method to… the madness. Let me explain. The conjugation of the imperative (used when giving a command) is the same as the present tense WHEN using the informal “tu” form. In other words…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

I can hardly wait.

March 3, 2021November 21, 2024 By James Hall

There are 3 ways that Brazilians use to say that something hard to wait for. The most common is with “mal posso esperar” –… “badly able to wait” (literally). We usually say “I can hardly wait” and Brazilians say, “Eu mal posso esperar”.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Portuguese verb DAR – 7 ways to use it

February 2, 2021November 21, 2024 By Raquel Semantica

The Portuguese verb DAR is a shape-shifter. When combined with other wordfs it can take on meanings like: working out, able to, worth it,… can & cannot. We’ll dive into its multifaceted meanings, from giving luck to taking charge. Explore 7 uniquely useful ways DAR adds life and detail to what you want to say.

(4) Advanced Portuguese

tudo vs. todo

January 26, 2021June 12, 2025 By James Hall

TUDO in Portuguese is used when talking about non-specific things. So for example when you say “tudo bem” you’re saying, “everything’s fine /… all is well”. Use TODO & TODA when you want to get more specific about things. For example, when saying something like, “I like to see here every day before going to work”…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

ESTAR – the definitive reference

January 10, 2021February 11, 2025 By James Hall

If you already know how to use SER & ESTAR correctly, you’re ready this: our ultimate reference for ESTAR. All of the tenses and… moods (with examples) ESTAR can be used for in Portuguese. BEHOLD the glory of ESTAR 🇧🇷.

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Precisar + de : Portuguese verb PRECISAR

December 23, 2020January 7, 2025 By James Hall

The verb PRECISAR is a lot like GOSTAR in that it gets followed by a “de”. But unlike gostar, not always! The “de” is… there because you are literally saying “I need OF something”. PRECISAR de alguma coisa. If you need an ACTION rather than a thing, the “de” does not get used.

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Você tem certeza?

December 9, 2020February 11, 2025 By James Hall

Você tem certeza… ? Brazilians love a sure thing. They are a positive people. To be sure about something is instrinsically optimistic and Brazilians… love it. Let’s learn the every-day phrases that they use to talk about sureness and certainty.

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Lá in Portuguese

November 3, 2020November 25, 2024 By James Hall

Lá in Portuguese is actually used in many different ways in day-today conversation. To Brazilians it’s much more than just, “there”! Let’s look at… the most common examples and how “lá” gets incorporated into some of the most iconic Portuguese expressions.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Acabar de – in Portuguese

October 28, 2020November 21, 2024 By James Hall

By combining ACABAR with “de” (acabar de) you immediately gain SUPERPOWERS. You’ll be able to say things like: I just arrived; She wound up… buying that car, and more! The amazing thing about Portuguese is that you can shape-shift verbs just by adding connector words like “de” or, “a” for example.

Using POR in Portuguese

October 13, 2020January 7, 2025 By James Hall

Using POR in Portuguese is not as simple as saying, “for”. It turns out that POR is used to express “for” in just a… very specific way. Let’s take a closer look at exactly how, and see by examples when and when not to use it.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

POR vs. PARA in Portuguese

October 12, 2020February 10, 2025 By James Hall

It’s far too easy to get these two simple words confused! Whether to use POR vs. PARA quickly becomes an easy decision as soon… as you see some key examples of each, in-context. Let’s do exactly that!

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Portuguese Articles: the The

October 9, 2020August 21, 2023 By James Hall

The first thing that struck me as wrong with the use of o and a for THE. One letter? I really wanted at least… an “el” or, “la”. Portuguese Articles (called: definite articles) are actually super-practical. Two immediate and big payoffs: (1) Most nouns that end in “o” take the “o”article. Most “a” ending words use “a” for “the”. (2) You can also combine…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

the Preterit Indicative ~ar verbs

October 6, 2020February 10, 2025 By James Hall

The Preterit Indicative is sometimes called “the simple past tense” (or, the preterit). It’s the clearest past tense in Portuguese because It describes action… that is over and done. Simple! Use it to say things like: I played soccer yesterday; Did she go to the club with you?; I liked the movie a lot — Don’t use it to say things like: If I were feeling better I’d go too; I was taking a shower when you called.

(2) Beginning Portuguese

the Portuguese infinitive

October 5, 2020February 10, 2025 By James Hall

In English, the infinitive form is “to” + the verb. Like this: to dance, to kiss, to spend etc. The Portuguese infinitive is just… the verb itself: falar, comer, dormir etc. There’s no need to add a “to”. Every verb is born in its infinitive beauty self-contained and ready for use.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

GOSTAR

October 5, 2020January 7, 2025 By James Hall

GOSTAR is obviously going to be one of your top-10m verbs that you use. There are two aspects of it that you need to… be aware of to use it right: (1) the “de” that always (always) follows gostar; (2) the way that Brazilians actually say, “I like this and that” using the PAST tense rather than the present. In this post we’re going to look at the most common ways you’ll hear GOSTAR used, and learn how to use it effectively.

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Portuguese Contractions

October 3, 2020November 21, 2024 By James Hall

The 3 most common Portuguese contractions are: (1) from em: no, na (2) from de: do, da (3) from a: ao, à. Once you… know these 3, all the others will make sense! The hardest part is just getting used to saying for example, “no” when you do not mean “não” – but rather: em + o (in the).

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Portuguese possessive pronouns

September 22, 2020August 31, 2023 By James Hall

Mine, Yours, His &; Hers The words that we use to convey POSSESSION are pretty simple because all objects are treated as gender-neutral. In… Portuguese of course, there are always two options: the masculine and the feminine. These are called possessive pronouns and they are going to test the limits of your patience until you…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

the Future Subjunctive

September 15, 2020February 3, 2025 By James Hall

Use the Future Subjunctive to talk about future events that are UNSURE to happen. The words IF and WHEN usually often trigger this tense. For example: Quando você chegar no Brasil, me ligue! This is likely to happen, but NOT 100% certain. Notice that the conjugation is simply the INFINITIVE form of the verb!

(4) Advanced Portuguese

the Present Subjunctive

September 14, 2020April 25, 2025 By James Hall

Using the Present Subjunctive Portuguese uses the Subjunctive mood to indicate something is uncertain to happen or to have occurred. There are 3 different… degrees of uncertainty: (1) extremely unlikely, (2) plausible, (3) likely. The Present Subjunctive is used for case (2): actions that are plausible, yet have not yet occurred.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

When to use the Portuguese Reflexive

September 6, 2020November 6, 2024 By James Hall

You use the Portuguese Reflexive when you want to be clear that you’re talking about yourself or, herself, themselves etc. When we say The… Portuguese Reflexive, we’re really talking about those pronouns that get added right before a verb. These are called Reflexive Pronouns: Reflexive Pronoun Eu me Eu me levantei. (I got myself up)…