Archive for 'Grammar'
How To Use “Há” or “A” Posted by Adir on Sep 15, 2014
Hello there! If you’ve been studying Portuguese for some time you may have noticed that we have a lot of homophones – those words that sound the same but are written somewhat differently (homo = same; phono = sound). As these words are confusing, many people don’t get them write when they write them. Such…
Grammar: Contractions with Countries and Cities Posted by Adir on Sep 12, 2014
Olá pessoal! Portuguese has some preposition + article contractions that foreign students don’t always get right. So first let’s review the most common contractions with em (at, in, on) and de (of, from). Em em + o = no em + a = na em + os = nos em + as = nas De…
How To Say “I’ve Been Doing” in Portuguese Posted by Adir on Jul 23, 2014
Olá, pessoal! I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years (please don’t do the math!) and every year both my English and Portuguese students have the same problem: the Present Perfect. The Present Perfect, in English, happens in sentences like: I’ve spoken to him many times. Have you ever done this? I haven’t seen him…
Conditional Sentences in Portuguese (Past Unreal) Posted by Adir on Oct 30, 2013
Olá! Tudo bem? In our last post we learned how to make present-real conditional sentences in Portuguese and most importantly, how to use the Futuro do Subjuntivo (which can be a pain to conjugate). Today let’s take a look at some other conditional sentences: If I studied hard, I would pass the test. If I…
Conditional Sentences in Portuguese (Possible-Future) Posted by Adir on Oct 28, 2013
Hello, there! Today we are going to start learning how to express condition in Portuguese. First, take a look at these sentences: If I study hard, I will pass the test. If he calls, can you take a message? If she comes late, tell her to go to my office. As you can see these…
How to say “mine”, “yours”, “theirs” in Portuguese Posted by Adir on Aug 8, 2013
Hello, there! Today’s post is a suggestion by a reader and it is really useful info for you. We are going to learn how to say mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours and theirs in Portuguese. So first things first. Let’s review the possessive adjectives in Portuguese: meu(s) – minha(s) = my Meu carro quebrou!…
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…