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Palavras Opostas

Opposite Words

Leonor has a test on opposite words tomorrow, so she asks her father to help her study while they walk home from school. Throughout their practice, you’ll learn lots of Portuguese adjectives, plus many examples of when to use ser vs. estar.

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  • 00:00:03Pai: Olá querida, como correram as aulas hoje?
  • 00:00:07Leonor: Correram bem.
  • 00:00:08Pai: O que andas a aprender?
  • 00:00:10Leonor: Andamos a aprender as palavras opostas.
  • 00:00:14Pai: Palavras opostas? Fala-me sobre elas.
  • 00:00:18Leonor: Olha, por exemplo… bom e mau, longo e curto, barato e caro, certo e errado, dia e noite…
  • 00:00:31Pai: Que interessante!
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abertaopen sing.,fem. AborrecidoAnnoying, boring os adultosadults altatall, high, loud sing.,fem. baixashort, low sing.,fem. baratocheap, inexpensive bomgood o calorheat, warmth caroexpensivesing.,masc. cem100 CertoRight cheiafull sing.,fem. chumbarto fail criançaschildren curtoshort, low dentroinside, within DifícilDifficult ErradoWrong fechadaclosed sing.,fem. foraoutside, out, abroad friocold fácileasy gordofat masc.,sing. InteressanteInteresting JovemYoung longefar longolong sing.,masc. MagroThin, lean, skinny (masc.) maubad menosLess MolhadoWet a noitenight opostasopposite fem.,pl.,adj. palavraswords pertoclose, near QueridaDear, honey fem., term of endearment SecoDry vaziaempty fem. sing. VelhoOld
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Por issoFor that reason, That's why, So, Therefore Fazer perguntasAsk questions (Literally: Make questions) Estou só a brincar!I'm just kidding! Deixa-me pensarLet me think
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Aprender uma Nova Língua
O Delicioso Pastel de Nata
Passeio De Domingo
O Diário da Beatriz
Gostos Semelhantes
Um Passeio Estragado
À Procura de um Apartamento
Queres Vir Cá Jantar?
Uma Série de Perguntas
Dois Pais à Conversa

Comments

  • Love these shorties. Thenk you very much.
    It is always a joy listining to you, great that we get to hear different voices. You are all AWESOME.
    FELIZ NOVO ANO para todos.

  • Bom dia Rui&Joel,

    E Um Feliz Ano Novo! Desculpa pelo atraso, o ano está já aí!

    The shorties são muito agradáveis, interessantes e proveitosos!

    Muito obrigada!

    XxFlorica

  • A good ‘shortie’. Studying opposites is an effective way of memorising vocabulary.

    Us adult learners are also like kids learning their native language, but unlike us it only takes the kids a short while to speak fluently before learning to read and write.
    Of course Madalena is far above my level!

  • This was informative and a joy to listen to. Young Madalena has a beautiful voice, and she speaks so clearly.
    It was interesting to see the use of correr in the frase “como correram as aulas hoje”, I would had used the verb ir.
    would “como foram as aulas hoje” be incorrect?
    The use of andar in the frase “ o que andas a aprender” was also surprising to me, would “ o que tinhas a aprender” be correct also?
    A great shortie,

    • Thanks for your comment, Laura!

      “Como foram as aulas hoje” is a perfectly fine and common alternative too. Just note that it’s the verb ser that’s being used, not ir. Tip: the verb ser usually asks for the adjective bom/boa, while the verb ir usually asks for the adverb bem. The answer to “Como foram as aulas?” is usually “Foram boas“, not “Foram bem” 🙂

      As for andar in “O que andas a aprender”, that’s a common idiomatic use of the verb. We cover this towards the end of this Learning Note: Present Continuous in Portuguese. The question “O que tinhas a aprender?” is grammatically correct, but it has a different meaning and is not interchangeable. This translates to something like “What were you supposed to learn?” rather than “What are you learning? / What have you been learning?”.

  • Love these shorties, very helpful!
    At the beginning and end of each shorty I hear something like “Bom tocar” – can you explain what that is?

  • What would be the best way to listen to these shorties? I tried to solely listen to them without looking at the Portuguese transcription but it seems it’s still too difficult/fast. I was wondering how others tackle listening to these shorties.

    • I wouldn’t say there’s one best way, so it depends on what works best for you. It should be challenging, you won’t understand every word, but you should come away from it feeling like you got something out of it.

      You could try slowing down the audio a bit, listening with the transcript and translation a few times first before listening without, reviewing the vocab/expressions first, breaking it into sections to focus on a small part at a time, reading it out loud first before listening, etc. There are a number of ideas in the infographic near the bottom of this Learning Note: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-practice-portuguese/ I hope that helps! Maybe others can share their tips as well. 🙂

  • I noticed that the verb andar is conjugated and used in reference to what Leonor is learning in classes. Can you clarify what the actual meaning of Andar is? I was under the impression it meant to walk, but it sounds like it means something closer to “to progress”. Thanks Wendy

    • “Andar” on its own does mean “to walk”, but it’s also used as part of a structure that derives from the Portuguese form of the Present Continuous: andar + a + verb in the infinitive.

      The closest match to the Present Continuous is actually with the verb estar (estar + a + infinitive), which is used for actions that are ongoing right now. This variation with the verb “andar” is used for actions that started in a recent past and are still ongoing, but not necessarily in a continuous manner (e.g. it can be an on-and-off action, as long as it’s habitual/repeated). This brings it closer to the Present Perfect Continuous – “have been …-ing”.

      More about this topic here: Present Continuous in Portuguese

      • Thank you Joseph. Appreciate the clarification. So sounds like the verb is more often used in the Present Continuous sense and could be considered irregular from that standpoint. I havent’ gotten to the Present Continuous lessons yet, so it was causing some confusion. 🙂 Obrigada!

  • Loving the many different ways to learn! I get confused because I can speak some French which has similar words spelled differently.
    I do find the shorties very difficult. Learning any new words first helps. I also get hung up on some of the grammar ( I should know this by now!) eg “e tu estas um bocado gordo ” why not “e tu es..”?
    I also get confused by the use of “no” as in no meu teste
    eg “I don’t want to fail my test” “E nao quero chumbar no meu teste”.
    And “So ha” like in so ha poucas pessoas or the O in O que
    It might be better for me to just listen a lot and forget trying to break it all down! This course is far better than I expected! Obrigada!!

    • Olá! Thank you for your comment 🙂 I perfectly understand how your knowledge of French can get a bit in the way at times, but with consistent practice, you should be able to eventually separate the two languages better.

      – Estás gordo vs. És gordo -> With “estás”, Leonor is indicating that being fat is not her father’s ‘default’ or usual state (in her eyes, at least). She saw him as a slimmer man before and is noticing a change in his weight. On the other hand, she specifically says that elephants “são gordos” -> for her, that’s their default, it’s how she expects all elephants to be.

      – Não quero chumbar no meu teste -> “No” is a contraction of em (preposition) + o (definite article). The preposition is not mandatory in English (we can just say “fail my test”), but in European Portuguese we need it as a connecting element for the sentence to be considered properly structured. It’s as if we said “I don’t want to fail ON my test”.

      – Só há poucas pessoas -> This translates directly to “There are only a few people” 🙂 Só = only. Há = There is/there are.

      – Que vs. O Que -> This Learning Note should help: Asking Questions in Portuguese

  • Thank you, Joseph, for taking the time to answer so many questions! There is much to learn and I often forget what was taught previously. I just got to the unit on irregular verbs and there was estar! I noticed that many words and expressions are repeated in different ways and are slowly becoming more familiar. With continued practice, I hope I’ll be able to speak and understand at least a little Portuguese during my trip to Portugal in 6 weeks. I have never been there and looking forward to seeing your beautiful country.

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