We’ve written about ACABAR de before — because it’s such a useful combination. When you place a de after acabar, it takes on the meaning of, to have just. ACABAR in Portuguese by itself means: to end, to end-up, to finish. Everyone gets these mixed-up (confundida) ~ That DE makes all the difference! Use ACABAR…
Read more...What’s so special about the verbs PARAR & COMEÇAR? For starters you’ve probably noticed that you always have to treat these verbs a little differently. For example, you can’t say “I stopped eating sugar” like this: eu parei comer açucar (NÃO!) — you need to include a de like this: Eu parei de comer açucar….
Read more...Discover the different ways Brazilians express “about” in Portuguese, from “regarding” to “approximately.” Getting a grasp on these expressions is a matter of learning them in-context and with good examples. 🇧🇷
Read more...The Portuguese preposition DE shows up in some unexpected places. DE does the heavy lifting of tying words together and shifting meanings. The best way to get up-to-speed on the superpowers of “de” are by example and CONTEXT🧑🏼🔬.
Read more...The verb PRECISAR is a lot like GOSTAR in that it gets followed by a “de”. But unlike gostar, not always! The “de” is there because you are literally saying “I need OF something”. PRECISAR de alguma coisa. If you need an ACTION rather than a thing, the “de” does not get used.
Read more...By combining ACABAR with “de” (acabar de) you immediately gain SUPERPOWERS. You’ll be able to say things like: I just arrived; She wound up buying that car, and more! The amazing thing about Portuguese is that you can shape-shift verbs just by adding connector words like “de” or, “a” for example.
Read more...It’s far too easy to get these two simple words confused! Whether to use POR vs. PARA quickly becomes an easy decision as soon as you see some key examples of each, in-context. Let’s do exactly that!
Read more...In English, the infinitive form is “to” + the verb. Like this: to dance, to kiss, to spend etc. The Portuguese infinitive is just the verb itself: falar, comer, dormir etc. There’s no need to add a “to”. Every verb is born in its infinitive beauty self-contained and ready for use.
Read more...GOSTAR is obviously going to be one of your top-10m verbs that you use. There are two aspects of it that you need to be aware of to use it right: (1) the “de” that always (always) follows gostar; (2) the way that Brazilians actually say, “I like this and that” using the PAST tense rather than the present. In this post we’re going to look at the most common ways you’ll hear GOSTAR used, and learn how to use it effectively.
Read more...por acaso » by chance Simônimos » inesperadamente, acidentalmente, casualmente, aleatoriamente, arbitrariamente Exemplo: Encontrei meus primos no festival por acaso. Não tínhamos combinado nada. » I met my cousins at the festival by chance. We hadn’t arranged anything. de propósito » on purpose Simônimos » deliberadamente, intencionalmente Exemplo: O propósito da vida é seguir a…
Read more...There are several verbs that when used in specific ways open the door to new possibilities. Let’s look at the combination, A partir de and how this one can be used. The Portuguese verb PARTIR means: to leave, depart, go away. a partir de When combined like this, partir takes on the meaning: starting from…
Read more...I am with luck. That is literally how you would say “I’m lucky” in Brazilian Portuguese: eu estou com sorte. estar com (beginner) In Brazilian Portuguese it’s important to remember that this special combination of ESTAR + COM is used to say things like: I’m hungry. > Eu estou com fome. I’m thirsty. > Eu…
Read more...You need to learn Portuguese. You have to learn Portuguese. Just as in English, there are two ways to express need in Brazilian Portuguese. Each has its own specific way of being used. (1) precisar PRECISAR = to need. Precisar is a little tricky because you must always put a “de” after it unless it’s…
Read more...There are so many different ways to express again/another time that it can get confusing. Let’s focus on the four most common ways that Brazilians say one more time. In order: (1) de novo (2) mais uma vez (3) outra vez (4) novamente Can we just use any of these in all situations? Sim… quase….
Read more...The Portuguese Gerund ✔︎ The Present Indicative ✔︎ The Subjunctive Mood ✔︎ Portuguese Prepositions ✔︎ You’re on a roll. Portuguese prepositions? No big deal. Then, you run into an everyday sentence like, Eu vou parar de fumar. Sem problema, right? I am going to stop of to smoke. Seems wrong. If you know your gerund…
Read more...Mudar de ideia Brazilians are a flexible bunch. They love to set dates, appointments, meetings and decisions, often without much hesitation. But it’s all in a constant state of flux. You will discover that it’s partly just their nature to agree to things. It’s actually a very charming trait. But, it also causes a lot…
Read more...To say you’re on holiday in Portuguese it’s, você está de férias. But to say the word holiday, it’s feriado. It’s just like in English when we say Summer holiday or talk about being on holiday. So it’s: on holiday = de férias holiday = feriado Simple, but confusing. Practice these: on holiday (de férias) Eu estou de férias. ➜ I’m…
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