Archive for 'Grammar'
Podcast: Cleaning Up Posted by Rachel on Sep 30, 2009
Today, we’re going to learn how to talk about cleaning in Portuguese. Click here to listen to the podcast! Vamos limpar o nosso apartamento. Pode pegar a vassoura? Irei buscar o aspirador. Temos que esfregar o chão da cozinha. Lave os vidros, por favor. Vou lavar a louça. Até que em fim, tudo está limpinho!…
Verbs to Know: Prefix “des” Posted by Rachel on Aug 21, 2009
Today, we’re going to discuss verbs that start with des. As to be expected, this prefix is a negative one, which negates the second part of the word. But this isn’t true of every single verb that starts with des; we’ll look at a few of the exceptions. 1. desconversar: to change the subject. Here…
Word of the Day: pior Posted by Rachel on Aug 7, 2009
Today’s Portuguese Word of the Day is pior, which depending on the context can mean worse or worst. Let’s take a look at how the word is used. Note that when used as worse, it is followed by que when making a comparison (i.e. worse than). Also note that when used as worst, a, o…
Slang Verbs Posted by Rachel on Jul 22, 2009
Today, we’re going to look at a few slangy verbs that will make you sound much more fluent in basic conversation. The definitions are a bit boiled down, so make sure you look to see how the words are translated in context. 1. rolar – to happen; to go on Acha que a festa da…
Grammar Review: Something/Someone Posted by Rachel on Jul 15, 2009
Today we’re going to do a little review of the “some” words in Portuguese. something = algo Você tem algo nos dentes. You have something in your teeth. Ela queria algo mais barato. She wants something cheaper. some = algum/alguma Eles compraram algum tipo de madeira, mas não sei qual. They bought some type of…
Estar vs. Ser Posted by Rachel on Jun 25, 2009
One of the difficult things for English speakers to learn in Portuguese is to distinguish between estar and ser, which both mean to be. Let’s review this very important concept. First, let’s take a look at how we conjugate both in the present simple tense, since they have similar conjugations. ser eu sou tu és…
Working with irregular verbs Posted by Rachel on Apr 8, 2009
One of the frustrating things about learning a Romance language is conquering the irregular verbs, since they require memorization. Today we’re going to take a look at three irregular verbs in the present, past perfect, and past imperfect. 1. pôr [to put] Present: Eu ponho Ele/ela/você põe Nós pomos Eles/elas/vocês põem Past Perfect: Eu pus…