Eliana
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- Emma: Olá, bom dia. Emma: Hello, good morning.
- José: Bom dia. Posso ajudar? José: Good morning. Can I help (you)?
- Sim, estou à procura de umas flores para dar à minha mãe. Yes, I'm looking for some flowers to give to my mother.
- José: Certo. Tenho este ramo muito bonito aqui, José: Right. I have this very pretty bouquet here,
- que acha? what do you think?
- Tem flores mais exóticas e cheira muito bem. It has more exotic flowers and it smells really good.
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Vocabulary
algosomething custarto cost o dinheiromoney, cash as floresflowers o floristaflorist masc. as margaridasdaisies o ramobranch, field, bouquet as rosasroses o trocochange money
Expressions
Orawell Estou à procura deI'm looking for, I am in search of ProntoOkay, All right, That's it, Ready à volta dearound
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Comments
Is there any difference between the phrases “à volta de” and “por volta de”? Both mean “around”.
Thank you.
In the sense of “approximately” (which applies to the word “around” in some contexts), you can consider the two interchangeable. In the literal sense of something being physically around something else, only “à volta de” should be used.
Another question: the indefinite “algo” – is it an invariant version of “alguma coisa”?
Thanks.
Yes, “algo” can stand in for “alguma coisa” (more general) or “uma coisa” (more specific), depending on context 🙂 An example of a more specific context would be the line “algo assim anda à volta dos 20 euros”, referring to a certain type of bouquet. On the other hand, the line “Tem algo mais barato?” is more general, and “alguma coisa” would fit well there.
I see that the clerk called Beatriz ‘menina’. But she is not a little girl. Wouldn’t he say ‘senhora’? Or is that only for ladies you know are married? I wish Portuguese had a middle term like ‘señorita’ in Spanish.
Good question. ‘Menina’ is often used as a common nicety to female customers, regardless of their marital status, even if they are fully grown adults 🙂 This is extra common when the customer seems to be significantly younger than the clerk.