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Archive for 'Grammar'

Provar Vs. Tentar Posted by on Jun 23, 2010

Today we’re going to look at two verbs that both mean to try, but in different contexts. 1. Provar =  to try (taste) / to try on / to prove Não quis provar o macarrão, mas resolvi comê-lo. I didn’t want to try the pasta, but I decided to eat it. Ela provou o vestido…

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Using Precisar Posted by on Jun 2, 2010

Precisar is a key verb to learn in Portuguese, especially since it is used in two different contexts with two different grammatical formats. The key grammatical difference is the use of the preposition de, which can sometimes be a little confusing. Precisar = to need When used as the verb to need, precisar is followed…

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Tocar vs. Brincar vs. Jogar Posted by on May 25, 2010

Sometimes, there’s more than one word for a single word in English. The three words tocar, brincar, and jogar are a perfect example, since they all translate as “to play” in English. tocar = to play (instrument) or to ring brincar = to play (children) jogar = to play (game/sport) Let’s take a look at…

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Levar vs. Trazer Posted by on May 18, 2010

Like those learning the equivalent English verbs to take and to bring, the verbs levar and trazer can sometimes be a little confusing, especially since we can translate levar as both to take and to bring in English. Here are some examples that will help you remember how to distinguish the two. For the purposes…

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Wrong or right? Posted by on Apr 25, 2010

If you’re an intermediate or advanced speaker of Portuguese you may have already noticed that spoken Portuguese differs a lot from written Portuguese. Some people say that many popular ways of using the language is wrong while some others say it’s simply the way that the natural evolution of the language takes. A very popular…

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Estar satisfeito Posted by on Dec 17, 2009

Today, we’re going to study a nice little expression you can use in a number of ways. 1. to be pleased Ela está satisfeita com os resultados. She’s pleased by the results. Estamos satisfeitos com o projeto. We’re pleased with the project. 2. to be full Não quero mais bolo. Estou satisfeita. I don’t want…

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To have done Posted by on Nov 13, 2009

In English, we frequently use the present perfect tense to describe some sort of experience that we had in the past. In Portuguese, this tense is used very infrequently, and instead, the past simple tense is used with já (already). Let’s take a look at some examples. Have you gone to Disney World? Você já…

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