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Verbos IR, VIR and VER Posted by Ester on Mar 22, 2016
Irregular verbs can be a real pain for someone learning a new language. There are three verbs in Portuguese which can be quite hard to memorise since they look a lot like each other, but have completely different meanings. These verbs are IR, VIR and VER. Ir – to go Presente Eu vou Você vai…
5 common mistakes em Português Posted by Ester on Mar 15, 2016
Every person learning a new language will commit mistakes no matter what. Some mistakes are more common than others. That happens because humans tend to use what they already know from their native language and apply it to the new language they are learning, even when it is not correct. This is why there are…
Verbs saber, conhecer; poder, conseguir Posted by Ester on Mar 7, 2016
There are two verbs in Portuguese for the verb to know in English: saber and conhecer. And there are also two verbs for can in English: poder and conseguir. Let’s check out the difference between them and how to use each word. Saber – used to talk about knowledge or information that you retain. Eu…
16 collocations with the verb FAZER Posted by Ester on Feb 29, 2016
Colocação (collocation) is a combination of two or more words that happen frequently in a language. There are some words in Português that are usually preceded by the verb fazer (make or do, in English). Let’s take a look at some of these colocações: Fazer questão – to insist, not to take no for…
EU, ME, MIM, COMIGO – difference Posted by Ester on Feb 22, 2016
There are some rules and words which make sense to native speakers because they have been using those words all their lives without giving them a second thought. However, these rules and words can be confusing to non-native speakers. This is exactly the case for the use of EU, ME, MIM and COMIGO. Let’s see…
Zika vírus no Brasil Posted by Ester on Feb 16, 2016
How much do you know about the Zika virus? News about the virus is everywhere and knowing more about it can help preventing getting infectado (infected). What is the Zika virus? It is an infecção (infection) caused by the virus ZIKV, transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The mosquito also transmits dengue fever as well…
Personal hygiene products em Português Posted by Ester on Feb 8, 2016
Olá amigos! How many times have you been in a shop trying to find a product that you buy regularly, but cannnot remember the name for it in Portuguese? It can be even more frustrating if an attendant asks you if they can help you locate the item, but you cannot explain what it is…