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melhor and melhorar

August 14, 2017August 22, 2017 By James Hall

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,…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

TO THINK in Portuguese

July 26, 2017November 15, 2023 By James Hall

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…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

de novo – in Portuguese

March 8, 2017September 14, 2020 By James Hall

There are so many different ways to express again/another time that it can get confusing. Let’s focus on the four most common ways that… Brazilians say one more time. In order: (1) de novo (2) mais uma vez (3) outra vez (4) novamente Can we just use any of these in all situations? Sim… quase….

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Não dá. Eu odeio!

December 12, 2016December 26, 2019 By James Hall

Eduardo Não dá, não dá! Não entendo nada! Nem física, nem literatura e nem gramática. Eu odeio química! Química! Por que que eu preciso… aprender isso? Ana Calma filho. Sei que não é fácil. Você tem que ter calmo e estudar muito. Não dá. This is a great way to start a sentence. Literally no…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Tô chegando in Portuguese

November 19, 2016February 2, 2021 By James Hall

We all have a specific vocabulary stack for setting up and managing our time. Scheduling our lives is a top priority, right? In Portuguese,… it’s no different. They have a core of really common verbs & vocab that they use again and again. But there are a few tricks to staying within the standards. Encontros…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Deixa para lá – in Portuguese

October 10, 2016April 3, 2024 By James Hall

I’ve written about the expression pode deixar and, me deixa em paz ~ me deixa sozinho (leave me in peace ~ leave me alone)… but the one that keeps coming back is: deixa para lá. Por quê? Why does this one generate the most interest? Deixa para lá. Probably because deixar is one powerful verb….

(2) Beginning Portuguese

English words used in Brazil

September 4, 2016September 28, 2021 By James Hall

This post is making me extremely hungry. Here’s the deal: once you know these you don’t have to bother to learn the Portuguese equivalents. No need to. They are already in use in the common vocabulary here. Just be sure to say these words with your best brazilian accent. We’ve gotten a native to record…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Listening and watching in Portuguese

August 24, 2016September 28, 2021 By James Hall

What is the difference between the verbs ASSISTIR, and VER? Is there any real difference between OUVIR and ESCUTAR? I was taught that VER… means to see and, ASSISTIR means to watch. : to see / : to watch I was also taught that OUVIR is to hear, and ESCUTAR is to listen. : to…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Ficar

July 31, 2016September 15, 2022 By James Hall

I’ve posted about FICAR before – Ficar Grammar & Portuguese Verb Ficar. FICAR is a big deal and using it correctly can be powerful. Italians have a big problem with this verb because apparently, it means to fuck in Italian. That’s their problem, not yours. Actually, Brazilians do use FICAR to talk about casual hook-ups…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Portuguese prepositions & verbs

July 20, 2016December 21, 2023 By James Hall

The Portuguese Gerund ✔︎ The Present Indicative ✔︎ The Subjunctive Mood ✔︎ Portuguese Prepositions ✔︎ You’re on a roll. Portuguese prepositions? No big deal. Then, you run into an everyday sentence like, Eu vou parar de fumar. Sem problema, right? I am going to stop of to smoke. Seems wrong. If you know your gerund…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Qualquer dúvida estou à disposição.

July 7, 2016April 12, 2024 By James Hall

If you’ve ever heard this and wondered what it really means, PARABÉNS – your Portuguese is pretty advanced. Let’s break this expression down. You… will hear it in business situations, or whenever someone is trying to help you out. Qualquer dúvida estou à disposição basically means, Feel free to ask any questions or, I’m available…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Como você anda?

June 16, 2016October 5, 2021 By James Hall

Como você anda? Easily one the most common ways Brazilians express, How are you doing? / How have you been? » Como você anda? (also: Como tu andas?) Yet, you will not find it in any language book! Is it slang? Is it an idiomatic expression? Is it a very new phrase? Não, não &…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Getting mad in Portuguese

May 31, 2016June 23, 2020 By Raquel Semantica

Do Brazilians lose their cool? Sure they do. They mostly try to maintain an I’m so relaxed appearance, that often gives way to the… I don’t give a damn look. But when they lose it, things can turn ugly quickly. Let’s look at the most common ways Brazilians talk about anger. I’m not going to…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Hurry up in Portuguese

April 12, 2016February 15, 2023 By James Hall

You’ve heard it said: Brazil is a slow-paced world. Everything happens according to some tropical relógio (clock). And that’s true – mais ou menos. But being in a hurry still happens here. There is always more to do than there is time to do it. Even in Brasil. How to say hurry up in Portuguese…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Where’s the AT in Portuguese?

April 7, 2016February 15, 2023 By James Hall

at the store in the restaurant on the subway For some reason I just can’t stop thinking about prepositions of place: in, on &… at Right in the middle of a hike. In the middle of my friend telling some crazy story about getting arrested on New Year’s eve here (Rio de Janeiro). O quê?…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Vem cá!

March 22, 2016June 7, 2021 By James Hall

I began my quest for fluency using the Pimsleur Portuguese audio program and had committed to memory this useful phrase: » Come here! Not… just useful but this was helping me remember how the Imperative Mood works. So why is this post about Vem cá!? Because you will never hear, Venha aqui in Brazil: everyone…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

PARECER in Portuguese

March 1, 2016February 15, 2023 By James Hall

How would you say something like, You seem to be doing great or, You look tired -? How about, looking good or, seems like… a good option -? I remember always getting stuck when trying to express – to seem, to appear. Then I discovered two things: 1- You don’t have to be so literal…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Queria in portuguese

February 17, 2016September 28, 2021 By Raquel Semantica

In english we say, I wanted to this and that… all_the_time. To say the same thing in portuguese it’s tempting to say something like,… Eu estava querendo x & y…. But this is very clunky, isn’t it? Brazilians will use the imperfect past form of QUERER to express this. Like this: Eu queria fazer uma…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

MACHUCAR in Portuguese : injured in Brazil

February 6, 2016October 8, 2021 By James Hall

Sometimes, Brazilian Portuguese hurts so bad! There are several ways to talk about being hurt, injured or wounded. The most confusing thing I get… questions about is the difference between MACHUCAR and MAGOAR. These two are the most important, most used verbs to say to hurt. MACHUCAR is used to talk about a physical injury….

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Deu mole!

February 1, 2016February 3, 2021 By James Hall

Moleza! Deu Mole! If you’re starting to have real conversations with real Brazilians, DEU MOLE! is one of the first girias (slangs) that you… will hear. To understand this one let’s look at where it comes from. Maria Mole. *Some people just want to know what this means, but I love to know the origins….

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Asking Directions in Portuguese

January 22, 2016September 28, 2021 By James Hall

One sure way to quickly improve your Portuguese is to get lost… in Brazil. Even if just for a few hours. All of your… speaking inhibitions will immediately disappear and you’ll be compelled to do the single best thing for improving your skills: speak to a real Brazilian! Brazilians are a helpful bunch. I’ve made…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Portuguese verb HAVER

December 18, 2015June 21, 2022 By James Hall

The Portuguese verb HAVER causes a lot of confusion. If you look at the definition it’s: haver = to be/to have (exist) But listening… in on its actual use, you’ll find that it’s used just like the verb, TER. And then there’s the fact that it appears to be yet another verb to express TO…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

IA in Portuguese – The conditional

December 9, 2015September 28, 2021 By James Hall

Using IA in Portuguese to express “was going to do” or, “could do” is one of the most powerful hacks that I know… of.

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Para in Portuguese

November 30, 2015September 29, 2021 By James Hall

PARA can mean either to (some place), or for (in order for). This harmless preposition confuses people all the time because there exist also… the preposition a, which also means to. Everyone asks which is correct: Eu vou à praia, or Eu vou para a praia-? Both are correct. Some will say that you should…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Hacking Portuguese Participles

November 18, 2015February 15, 2023 By James Hall

Many Portuguese learners get tripped-up with the past tense. But there are some hacks that can get you speaking quickly. One of them is… learning to use Portuguese participles. The past participle is just a verb conjugation that describes something that is over and done: written, said, cooked, closed etc. Learning the Portuguese participles is…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

The Portuguese Present Progressive ➜ common examples

November 5, 2015November 18, 2023 By James Hall

The Portuguese Present Progressive is one of the first conjugations you will learn, but many students are afraid to actually use it. I was… too, until I could really hear/see someone using them! *Taken from a longer dialog. The Present Progressive (ing): -ar verbs: ando / -er verbs: endo / -ir verbs: indo » From…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Cadê in Portuguese

October 27, 2015September 27, 2021 By James Hall

Is this really Portuguese? Sim, é. You will hear it every day in Brazil. And for some reason, it’s not presented in any of… the Brazilian Portuguese grammar books or other learning materials! Probably because it’s relatively recently become part of the common (conversational) vernacular. But it’s omnipresent. In conversational Portuguese, Brazilians will use CADÊ in…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Am I fluent in Portuguese yet?

October 12, 2015November 17, 2023 By James Hall

What is fluency? What does it take to be fluent in Portuguese? When exactly will that happen? Boa pergunta. When I first came here… I was obsessed with asking every single foreigner I came across in Brazil: So, how long it did it take you to get fluent in Portuguese? Looking back, so many of…

(1) Portuguese Learning Tips

Como foi?

October 2, 2015February 15, 2023 By Raquel Semantica

Most Portuguese courses start by teaching the future tense (using IR). Como vai? That’s because it’s the simplest thing to learn. But in the… real world you want to be able to talk about what happened a few minutes ago; what happened yesterday, and so on. And, this is NO BIG DEAL to do. You…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

O que que você fez?

September 23, 2015October 8, 2021 By James Hall

Que-que-que-que-que… That’s the sound of Brazilian Portuguese. Just as we have the word it and that in almost all of our sentences, so Portuguese… has que. And sometimes it sounds as if that’s all they’re saying: que que que. Brazilians have the habit of swallowing the words on either side of the que. But the…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

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