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Contractions Posted by carol on Feb 19, 2016
Olá a todos! Como foi a semana de vocês? (Hello, you guys! How was your week?) Today’s grammar point is about contractions. Contractions are combinations between two words that have been shortened (by omitting letters and sounds) to result in a single word. While some languages, like Spanish, use fewer contractions, they are very present…
Three Beaches worth visiting in the Brazilian Northeast Posted by carol on Feb 12, 2016
You don’t precisa saber (need to know) much about Brazil to recognize that its beaches are among the most distinguished in the mundo inteiro (whole world). Well, obviously there is a reason for that. With its huge continental proportions, a litoral (coastline) of 7,491 km and more than 2000 beaches across the country, passar o…
Brazilian Cinema Part III Posted by carol on Feb 5, 2016
Ei, gente! Hey, guys! Since the Oscars are coming up esse mês (this month), how about we get into the movie-watching mood – preferably with Brazilian movies? As we know, watching movies in a foreign language is an effective learning tool and a means to familiarize oneself with a culture. Today we’re going to…
Brazilian Drinks – Part II Posted by carol on Jan 30, 2016
While northern countries may be currently experiencing the chilly winter weather, Brazilian summer is in full steam. As we all know, it’s important to keep cool and hydrated when it’s hot, and there is a great variety of typical Brazilian beverages to help you with that. Last month I wrote about our most famous alcoholic…
Masculine nouns ending with the letter “a” Posted by carol on Jan 14, 2016
Hello, everybody! (Olá a todos!) Let’s see some grammar? Portuguese, like many other languages, assigns gender – either masculine or feminine – to substantivos (nouns). Masculine nouns are preceded by the definite article “o” – as in o carro (the car), o cachorro (the dog), o prédio (the building) – whereas feminine nouns take the…
Tudo e todo Posted by carol on Jan 7, 2016
Olá a todos! Tudo bem com vocês? (Hey all!! Everything alright with you?) The words tudo e todo in Portuguese are very similar, not only in spelling, but also in meaning. To avoid confusion, today’s post will make a distinction between the two pronouns and provide some examples: Tudo (everything) means the totality of things, the…
Tradições de Ano Novo no Brazil – Brazilian New Year’s traditions Posted by carol on Dec 31, 2015
New Year’s eve is all about celebrating, exchanging greetings, reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future. And, of course, popping champagne para dar boas-vindas (to welcome) the upcoming year with enthusiasm. Even though the general mood is of renewal and positivity, people honor the occasion differently across the globe. In Brazil, the…