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Conectivos e conectores: Explicativas

December 13, 2012April 20, 2021 By James Hall

The previous posts in this series about conjuctions: > Conclusivas > Aditivas > Adversativas > Alternativas Explicativas: Expressam a relação de explicação, razão ou motivo. > que, porque,… porquanto, pois (before the verb). Exemplos: >> Ele não entra porque está sem tempo. >> Eu resolvi limpar a janela que fica suja quando chove. >> Ele vai à praia pois está de férias….

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Conectivos e conectores: Alternativas

December 10, 2012April 20, 2021 By James Hall

Spectacular Conjunctions, part 3 Alternativas: Como o seu nome indica, expressam uma relação de alternância, seja por incompatibilidade dos termos ligados ou por equivalência… dos mesmos. > ou… ou, ou, ora… ora, já… já, quer… quer, etc. Exemplos: >> Ou ela, ou eu.>>> It’s either me or her. >> Você vai ter que comer tudo, quer você…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Conectivos e conectores: Adversativas

December 7, 2012April 20, 2021 By James Hall

Fabulous Conjunctions, part 2 In this second post we present for your learning pleasure, the adversativas — the glue that bonds us. Adversativas: Indicam… uma relação de oposição bem como de contraste ou compensação entre as unidades ligadas. >>Adversativas show a relationship of opposition and contrast. Também pode gerar um sentido de consequência a algo…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Once upon a time.

December 5, 2012October 4, 2021 By James Hall

From our online Portuguese course. In English, we do not have this tense (the imperfect indicative). But watch out because in Portuguese of Brazil… you cannot talk about the past without it! In Portuguese, when talking about an event in the past that was ongoing or would always occur, we use this tense. Here is…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Pronounce partir, perder & ver

October 27, 2012October 27, 2016 By James Hall

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Pronounce conhecer, chegar & viajar

October 27, 2012October 27, 2016 By James Hall

(2) Beginning Portuguese

The Social Language

September 27, 2012November 17, 2023 By James Hall

Just as Brazilians love to talk and be social, they are equally enthusiastic about facebook, twitter, skype and all the rest. *just a year or… two ago everyone had an Orkut account — now replaced almost completely by facebook. Some of our readers have been asking us to talk about the current vocabulary of média social….

(1) Portuguese Learning Tips

Ela estava de cabeça quente

July 31, 2012May 4, 2020 By James Hall

That’s what olympic athlete Rafaela Silva said after being eliminated (declassificada) for an illegal Judo move. And the expression, “cabeça quente” — hot head… is something we would say as well. What’s worth learning from this is that Brazilians use ‘cabeça’ in expressions all the time. Let’s see… de cabeça para baixo = upside-down >…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Mal posso esperar!

June 1, 2012May 4, 2020 By James Hall

I can hardly wait! I found it really difficult to learn how to say things like, ‘barely’, ‘hardly’, and ‘scarcely’ — staples of english… communication 😉 I would always come up with, for example: ‘não posso esperar’ — which translates quite literally to ‘I am unable to wait’ To express the true meaning of hardly…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

I’ve been working

May 14, 2012October 8, 2021 By James Hall

Eu tenho trabalhado, e você? And, what about you, what have you been up to? In english, the ‘been’ is a way of signaling… that you’re talking about the past, about something that is ongoing. If you say for example. ‘Eu trabalhei’ it means that you worked and that it’s done. To talk about some action…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

What number are you?

May 8, 2012August 18, 2023 By James Hall

Are they calling you a ‘nota dez’ or simply a ‘um-sete-um’ -? You better know. Brazilians love to use numbers with hidden meanings. Let’s… look at the most common; zero = brand, spanking, new. > Ele ganhou um carro zero para trabalho. 10= really, really good. > Ela é linda, inteligente e simpatica — Ela…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Ordering in Portuguese

May 4, 2012October 8, 2021 By James Hall

I had a tough time getting used to the way Brazilians order things – at restaurants, pharmacies, hotels – wherever. For some reason, I… was expecting a little more politeness in the language – ESPECIALLY when ordering in Portuguese. I’d like a large iced-coffee, please In Brazil you are going to say, Give me a…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Expect the Unexpected.

April 22, 2012October 8, 2021 By James Hall

When Brazilians want to say that something unexpected came up, they do it like this: “Aconteceu um imprevisto!” Which just seems strange for two… reasons: 1) The verb is at the very start of the phrase; and 2) where is the ‘came up’ part? (from Semantica Series 2: advanced dialogs) A beginner would try and…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

Alma Gêmea

August 29, 2011January 5, 2023 By James Hall

Soul mates. The perfect fit. Not something you bump into everyday but, when it happens it’s a beautiful thing. In portuguese the expression is… perfect: ‘soul twin’ > alma gêmea ALMA = soul, spirit, heart or essense GÊMEA = twin Alma Gêmea. “As pessoas acham que alma gêmea é o encaixe perfeito (perfect fit) e é isso que todo…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Eu te dou valor!

August 3, 2011February 1, 2022 By James Hall

A girlfriend of mine used to say, when talking about an ex of hers that “ele não me dava valor.” At the time, I… thought she was saying that the guy “didn’t give her money” ;-). And that may have been true, but not at all what she was saying! Let’s review… “Dar valor” to…

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Rascunho.

July 22, 2011August 6, 2018 By James Hall

Anything that is a rough draft or, a sketch of something can be called um RASCUNHO. That includes a document, a work of art,… something being made – really anything that’s not yet ready, can be referred to as a RASCUNHO. Some examples, > O relatório é um rascunho. A versão final vai sair só depois….

(3) Intermediate Portuguese

Te amo Brazilian Portuguese!

June 4, 2011August 6, 2018 By James Hall

It’s a little strange to hear some one that you hardly know sending you “hugs & kisses” after a brief phone conversation. But, that… is how it goes here in Brazil. A man commonly ends a phone or email conversation with “abraço” (hug). A woman will often say “beijos” or call you “querido/a” (darling). This…

(2) Beginning Portuguese

The Present Perfect Tense

April 30, 2011April 16, 2024 By James Hall

In Portuguese there are several ways to refer to something that happened in the past, each with varying shades of meaning. The present… perfect indicative (!) includes expressions like ‘I have been going out every night’. Use it when talking about action that has been happening (and still is).

(4) Advanced Portuguese

a ficha caiu!

April 24, 2011August 6, 2018 By James Hall

Once upon a time, the orelhão – public phones, required a token or, ficha. After placing the token in the coin slot it would… cair once the party picked-up.

(4) Advanced Portuguese

tanto quanto — as much as — in Portuguese

June 10, 2010May 9, 2021 By James Hall

Quanto this, tanto that, tanto quanto… tanto quanto, tanto quanto… Is there anything more confusing? But damn… I am finally there. I mean, here… aqui. And let me tell you: It’s empowering to be able to say things like: I don’t like Billie Eilish as much as French Toast. My dog does not snore as…

(4) Advanced Portuguese

Grammar quiz: present perfect indicative

April 5, 2000May 4, 2021 By Ana

Have you ever wondered how to translate “been” into Portuguese? It’s a common mistake to think that the verbs for “to be” are involved. The key is to use TER.

(4) Advanced Portuguese