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Is making a little cow something bad? Find out now! Posted by Adir on Jun 15, 2013
Hello, there! Today I’m going to teach a very common Brazilian expression: fazer uma vaquinha. Literally it means “to make a little cow” and you may wonder, “Adir, what on earth is that?” Well, fazer uma vaquinha means to raise money, informally, for something or someone. For example, your friend wants to audition for American…
Happy Valentine’s Day! … in Brazil Posted by Adir on Jun 11, 2013
Olá, pessoal! Tomorrow is Dia dos Namorados, Valentine’s Day, in Brazil so I thought I’d teach you some “loving” vocabulary in Portuguese. Namorar = to date Ter um encontro com = to have a date with Um encontro = a date Você parece mais feliz depois que começou a namorar o Mike. – You look…
Contractions in Portuguese Posted by Adir on Jun 6, 2013
Hello, there! Today’s post was suggested by a reader and it covers one aspect of learning Portuguese that has students somewhat confused: the contractions. Contractions come mostly with prepositions and articles so here they are! 01. Em – in, on or at em + o = no em + a = na em + os…
How to apologize and forgive in Portuguese Posted by Adir on Jun 4, 2013
Hey, there! How’s it going? We all mess up one day or the other so it is very important to be able to say I’m sorry and also to forgive and forget, so this is the topic of our post today. Pedindo Desculpas – Apologizing Desculpe. – I’m sorry. Foi sem querer. – I didn’t…
I’m moving out! Posted by Adir on May 27, 2013
Hello, everybody! I’m moving out to a new apartment and I had to buy all my furniture again (long story!) so I thought I’d share some house vocabulary with you guys today since I’m in the middle of a bit of a mess! I’ve been having to deal with eletricistas (electricians), serralheiros (locksmiths) and people…
11 Things Not to Say on a First Date Posted by Adir on May 23, 2013
Oi, pessoal! I went to Belo Horizonte last month to attend an English club meetup. I was invited by the Real Life English guys and at the meetup I met Leandro Nazar, who’s an actor and has a very interesting Youtube channel. One of his latest videos is 11 Coisas que Não se Deve Falar…
I need to take a taxi, what do I do? Posted by Adir on May 21, 2013
Hello, there! If you’re traveling to Brazil and nobody’s going to pick you up at the airport chances are you will need to speak some Portuguese with the taxi driver, so why learn some survival phrases in the meantime, huh? First read the following dialogue where John, an American businessman, goes to Rio for a…