Archive for August, 2007
Pagar Mico Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 31, 2007
Pagar Mico means to be embarrassed. Specifically, pagar mico refers to whatever you did to embarrass yourself. An example would be: “Ele escorregou no tapete na casa da minha avó. Pagou mico!” He slipped on the rug at my grandmother’s house. Pagou mico. Other circumstances of pagando mico would be spilling a beer on your…
Phrases about Time Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 31, 2007
This is not a post about how to tell time. Today I will show the best ways of saying common time-related phrases in Portuguese, such as a long, long time ago. Easy to learn and helpful to know, I hope you all enjoy these phrases Em tempos remotos A long, long time ago De vez…
Skypecasts Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 30, 2007
Last night I had an amazing experience. André Barbosa (from the terrific Brazilian Portuguese Podcast) invited me to join a Skypecast that he had created and was moderating. I stayed up way too late speaking English and Portuguese with people from all over the world; simply fantastic! … Continue Reading
The Brazilian ‘Eh?’ Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 29, 2007
North Americans are certainly familiar with the fact stereotype that Canadians end their sentences with ‘Eh?’ A sort of rhetorical interrogative, this type of linguistic habit or custom is by no means limited to Canada. Of course, this saying doesn’t end every sentence, but is used as a casual cue for the listeners approval. Brazilians…
Lógico Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 29, 2007
MY favorite way of saying “of course” in Portuguese is lógico. Cleary cognate with the English logical, this is a great one-word phrase that communicates support of a proposition. It is common for Spanish-speakers learning Portuguese to look for a counterpart to por supuesto, the standard phrase used to communicate this idea in Spanish. Though…
Plastic Surgery in Brazil Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 29, 2007
I saw a TV segment once that featured a reporter combing Ipanema beach asking its denizens if they would have plastic surgery (if it were free), and if so, what would they have done? Many of the respondents were pretty funny, but one woman took the cake by replying “Eu teria duas. Um para o…
Present Progressive Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 28, 2007
The Present Progressive or Continual Present tense is very useful and easy to form in Portuguese. This tense represent ongoing action in the present; its counterpart in English is the construction [subject] is [verb] – ing for example: I am running To form this tense in Portuguese, all you need to do is employ the…