There are 3 essential conjunctions that you’ll need when you want to start connecting your thoughts and forming more complex sentences in Portuguese: These 3 are called , because they combine multiple independent phrases into one. You’ll learn much more about conjunctions in later units, but for now, we’ll focus on these 3 essentials. 1) “E” […]
Essential Portuguese Conjunctions
Good/Bad vs. Well/Badly
What’s the difference between mau and mal? What about bom and bem? These pairs of Portuguese words are very similar in meaning, but they’re not interchangeable. It comes down to understanding the difference between adjectives and adverbs and how they are used in Portuguese. Adjectives Good and bad are adjectives, which modify nouns (people / places […]
Present Continuous in Portuguese
This Learning Note will cover the present continuous in Portuguese. When we talk about actions that are happening right at the time of speaking, we use the present continuous, also known as the present progressive. Let’s start by taking a look at how this works in English. Present continuous in the first person: I am […]
Talking About the Future in Portuguese
Below we will discuss the three main methods to talk about the future in Portuguese: 1. Using Ir + Infinitive Similar to the English construction, to discuss the future, Portuguese uses the verb , followed by a verb in its infinitive form. First let’s see the present tense conjugation for the verb ir, since this […]
The Verb “Pôr”: In a Group of Its Own?
The verb pôr is an unusual Portuguese verb. You may be surprised to learn that all verbs ending in -OR are actually part of the same group as verbs that end in –ER. 🤔 These “-por” verbs are considered part of the -ER group because of their Latin origins: pôr used to be written as […]
Talking about Quantity
These are three of the simplest, most common words used to talk about quantity in Portuguese: Countable Nouns When talking about countable quantities (which usually end in “-s” in English as well as Portuguese), muito, pouco and algum all change according to gender and number: Uncountable Nouns With uncountable nouns (such as virtues, qualities, or time, […]
Regular -ER Verbs in the Present Tense
As mentioned, Portuguese verbs are split into three groups: -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs Now we’ll deal with the 2nd group: -ER verbs! Regular -ER Verb Endings Below are some examples of regular -ER verbs in the present tense. Notice the endings (-o, -es, -e, -emos, -em) which are added after each verb’s stem […]
Regular -AR Verbs in the Present Tense
In Portuguese, verbs are split into three groups: -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs In this article, we’ll cover the first group: -AR Verbs! Common regular verbs ending in -AR include , and When the conjugation is regular, the endings of conjugated -AR verbs follow the same pattern. Below, we’ll use the Portuguese regular verb […]
Introduction to Portuguese Adjectives
are words that describe a noun, assigning it a quality, state, appearance, or other property. (Adverbs are also used to describe, but instead of nouns, they modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.) In Portuguese, using adjectives requires that you consider the gender and number of the word being modified, as well as the word order […]
When to Use Dele/Dela vs. Seu/Sua
Dele vs seu? When forming 3rd person possessives in European Portuguese, how do we decide when to use dele, dela, deles, delas vs. seu, sua, seus, suas? Possessives formed with de are less ambiguous: they agree strictly with the subject, not with the object. In contrast, seu and its derivatives agree with the object, so […]
3rd Person Possessives: De + Pronoun
The Ambiguity of Seu, Sua, Seus, and Suas To review, the Portuguese possessive pronouns/determiners for the third-person forms are the following: Subject Possessive Pronoun/Determiner English Equivalent Ele, Ela, Você His, Her/Hers, Your/Yours(formal) Eles, Elas Their, Theirs As you can see, , , , , and all share the same exact possessive determiners! Since the determiners agree with […]
Introduction to Possessives
Possessive Determiners vs. Possessive Pronouns In this unit, we’re going to learn about possessive determiners and possessive pronouns in Portuguese, which both serve the function of expressing possession or ownership of something. In English, these are words like my, your, his, her, their, and our (possessive determiners) and mine, yours, his, hers, theirs, and ours […]
1st and 2nd Person Possessives
Mine, Yours, and Ours Let’s take a closer look at this first group of possessives: meu, teu, nosso and vosso, plus their feminine and plural forms. Subject Possessive Pronoun/Determiner (for masculine nouns) Possessive Pronoun/Determiner (for feminine nouns) Eu Tu Nós Vós, Vocês Gender and Number Agreement Remember that the pronoun/determiner has to agree in gender […]
Ser vs. Estar: Two Ways of Being
Are you familiar with the verbs and ? Even with a lot of practice, they are still easy to mix up! Don’t worry: in this unit you’ll learn more about when to use one versus the other. A Basic Distinction: Ser vs Estar Ser is typically used to describe permanent states or conditions. It refers […]
O Azulejo Português
The Portuguese Tile
Today we learn about one of the most important symbols of Portuguese culture, found all over the walls and buildings throughout the country – azulejos (tiles). As always, we explore new vocabulary and grammar, and correct more of Joel’s “pronúncia de estrangeiro!”
A Tartaruga Ninja
The Ninja Turtle
Our fabulously fictional Portuguese family is back (with peculiarly different voices 😂) and this time, they’re considering adding a new member. We explore new vocabulary surrounding food, animals and more, and also run into some new usage examples of the conjunctive and conditional moods. And just like in the last episode, Rui continues to help Joel identify some more of his “estrangeiro” pronunciation habits!
Update (April 12, 2018): After launching this episode, it was helpfully pointed out to us that keeping a turtle as a pet is irresponsible: They die earlier in captivity and live a miserable, unnatural life. They’re part of our wildlife heritage and need their protected, natural habitat to thrive. Instead, consider adopting a cat or dog from a shelter – surprisingly, they’re less work, and you’ll be doing some good! More details here and here. (Obrigado, Joanna!)
A Mãe Está Doente e o Pai Cuida da Família
Mother Is Sick and Father Takes Care of the Family
Today, our fictional Portuguese family is subjected to some of the grammar you’ll find around the B2 Intermediate level, including the “conjuntivo” verb mood. Since the mother is sick, the father has to improvise with preparing dinner himself, all while taking care of the kids. Will it be as easy as he thinks, or will it all go “por água abaixo”?
3rd Person Possessives: Seu and Sua
His, Hers, Yours, and Theirs There are just a few more Portuguese possessives to learn: Subject Possessive Pronoun/Determiner English Equivalent Ele, Ela, Você His, Her/Hers, Your/Yours (formal) Eles, Elas Their, Theirs See what happens there? The pronouns/determiners for the third-person singular (+ você) and the third-person plural are all the same! Gender and Number Agreement […]
The Verb “Ser”
is one of the most fundamental and important Portuguese verbs. It also happens to be an irregular verb, which helps explain why the conjugations below look quite different from the verb’s infinitive form. For now, we’ll focus on ser in the :
Conjunctions Related to Reasoning
Causal subordinating conjunctions (conjunções subordinativas causais) introduce the reason or cause for what was said in the independent clause. Examples:
Intro to Subordinating Conjunctions
As you may recall from the earlier Portuguese conjunctions unit, conjunctions are words that connect other words or phrases together. They help you link your thoughts together by showing different types of relationships between the parts of a sentence. You practiced with many different types of “coordinating” conjunctions, which serve different purposes, such as showing […]
Conjunctions Related to Purpose
Final subordinating conjunctions (conjunções subordinativas finais) describe the purpose of the event or action. Examples:
Conjunctions Related To Time
Temporal subordinating conjunctions (conjunções subordinativas temporais) tell us when the action or event described in the independent clause has occurred or is occurring.
Tu and Você in European Portuguese
As part of our Tu e Você unit, this guide will cover how to address people formally vs. informally in Portugal, with a special focus on the difference between tu and você in European Portuguese. Grammatically, it doesn’t take too long to learn the basics. The most challenging aspects for , however, tend to be […]