Archive for 'Grammar'
‘Amanhã’ vs ‘A manhã’ Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 14, 2007
Amanhã means tomorrow, while a manhã means the morning. Frequently confused by Portuguese learners, these two words are separate and non-interchangeable. Some related common phrases are café da manhã (breakfast), amanhã de manhã (tomorrow morning), and Manhã de Carnaval, or Carnival Morning, the famous theme to the movie Black Orpheus written by Luis Bonfá and…
Imperatives Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 11, 2007
The imperative form in Portuguese is pretty easy to use. To command action, as the form is most commonly used to do, you can simply use the Você or Vocês form of the (regular) verb. the reason for this is that it is common to use the Tu form of the subjunctive, which for regular…
Fazer Questão Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 5, 2007
Fazer is a great phrasal verb (like ficar)that has many meanings based on the context and also the use of additional, modifying prepositions or adverbs. Today let’s discover another use of fazer that indicates insistence: fazer questão. Here’s an example from Guilherme: “Eu faço questão que você jante comigo.” “I insist that you dine with…
Present Progressive Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 28, 2007
The Present Progressive or Continual Present tense is very useful and easy to form in Portuguese. This tense represent ongoing action in the present; its counterpart in English is the construction [subject] is [verb] – ing for example: I am running To form this tense in Portuguese, all you need to do is employ the…
The Verb ‘Dar’ Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 20, 2007
The use of the verb Dar to give with the alternate meaning to be possible is ubiquitous in Brazil. Using dar in this manner is different from using poder; dar indicates possibility and likelihood of an occurrence in an impersonal way. Poder serves to specify literal ability: he can complete the task, it is believable…
Diminutives Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 13, 2007
Terms of endearment are a national pastime in Brazil. You can’t bottle cuteness, but the Brazilian Portuguese language has the next best option. The diminutive form in Portuguese has nearly cornered the global market for endearing nicknames (apelidos) in addition to being a common useful way of describing the tiny form of common nouns. As…
Here and There: Aqui, Ali and Lá Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 8, 2007
English is easy, right? We have two prepositions, here and there for describing relative location to the speaker. Portuguese isn’t so tough itself, but in this instance the language is both more involved and more specific. Brazilians use four different prepositions for a similar purpose. Aqui, means here, just as it does in Spanish. To…