My mom still gets mad when I get “I” and “me” mixed up. It still happens too often, giving her joy every time. It’s the same thing in Portuguese. The big confusion is whether to say para mim or, para eu. Fortunately, there is a very simple trick to getting these right. Once you know…
Read more...I think this is the best example. It’s so natural. From the new Story (o Retorno) The scene: Lucas has to spend the night in Uncle Leo’s room. Leo: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Line-by-line: (1) Eu ensino para você. >> I’ll teach you. (2) Eu vou te ensinar. >> I’m going to teach you….
Read more...There are two extremely common substitutions made in conversational Portuguese: para você > gets replaced by te para mim > gets replaced by me These make sentences shorter, more streamlined. *Note the word order changes. The pronouns me, te go before the action verb.
Simple object pronouns: Substitute te for você. Advanced object pronouns: You can say “it” and, “them” by using the pronouns -lo, -la, -los, -las These pronouns get attached to the end of the verb. Like this: Forming Remove the final letter of the verb and add -lo, -la, -los, -las…
RAMON Fala Marquinhos! If you want to sound like a Brazilian, say “Fala!” like you would say “hi”. MARCOS Acabou! Graças a Deus, acabou. ACABAR = to have just & to finish. In this context it translates to, “it’s over”. RAMON Mas aí, cara. Te deu a prova? He said te deu. What he really…
Brazilians hate making real commitments. They prefer being spontaneous. But, that doesn’t stop them from talking as if they’re going to do something 😉 Watch how this conversation almost goes off the rails while trying to set up a date. In this dialog, Michele (Mee-shell-ee) just finished having a job interview with Vívian. These are…
PSICÓLOGO Pode começar. PSICÓLOGO Cinco, dez, quinze, vinte, vinte e cinco… PACIENTE O que… o que é isso? PSICÓLOGO Isso é seu dinheiro indo embora. Vinte e cinco… You already know that IR EMBORA means, to go away. So here, the INDO is the Present Progressive of IR. indo = going indo embora = going…
TATIANA Te achei! “Te achei” is the short way of saying “Eu te achei.”, which is the short way of saying “Eu achei você.” WILLIAM Oi amor! É. Você me achou, sim. That “é” is just William saying, “it is (me)”. Note the word order here. We wouldn’t say, “you me found”. In Portuguese you…
I remember feeling very decepcionado when I heard people saying “te” almost the same as you. I was working on perfecting the pronunciation of the word “você” — Was it vo-say or vo-sey? I was hearing people saying things like “Te falei…” and, “Vou te ligar”. These are known as, object pronouns. Is te always…
Read more...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…
Read more...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…
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