Archive for 'Learning'
Augmentative e diminutive in Portuguese Posted by carol on Nov 12, 2015
Olá, galerinha. Tudo certinho? (Hey, you guys, everything all right?) You may have noticed while trying to learn Portuguese or chatting with Brazilians that we really enjoy using the augmentative and the diminutive forms. It’s very common and we use it on a regular basis, so it’s important to learn how it works. The augmentative…
Acentuação gráfica – accents em Português Posted by Ester on Nov 10, 2015
Acento agudo (acute accent): It is always used above any vowel to indicate this vowel is part of the stressed syllable. It also indicates that the vowel sound is an open sound. Exemplos: Ela é uma menina amável. (She is a lovely girl) Esse não é um assunto típico da aula de física. (This…
Music to listen to (Part II) Posted by carol on Oct 22, 2015
Olá, amigos! (Hey, buddies!) Music tem um papel relevant (plays a relevant role) in the learning process of a foreign language. It can improve listening skills and help build up vocabulary, especially if you acompanhar a letra (follow the lyrics) to the song. Eu escrevi (I wrote) a post mês passado (last month) suggesting two major Brazilian…
The word “feira” in Português Posted by Ester on Oct 19, 2015
In most línguas (languages) the days of the week refer to either astrological bodies or pagan gods. Portuguese, however, seems to be the only Latin language which uses a different name for the dias da semana (days of the week): they all end in “feira”. The explanation dates back to the year 563 when Portuguese…
Preposition of place em Português Posted by Ester on Oct 12, 2015
Como vão vocês, amigos? Where is there a pen I can use? There are better ways of answering that question than pointing and saying “there”. Knowing the following prepositions of place will be of great help: Em cima de – on Em baixo de – under Acima de/sobre – over Entre – between Do lado…
Going to the médico (doctor) in Brazil Posted by Ester on Oct 5, 2015
Oi de novo pessoal! Going to the doctor is never pleasant, having to do so in a different culture and language could be quite estressante (stressful). So here are some tips and vocabulary to help you out. In some cultures it is quite common for people to go first to the General Practitioner, who will…
Sounds X and CH in Português Brasileiro Posted by Ester on Sep 21, 2015
Tudo joia, gente? (How are things, everyone?) Last Monday we focused on the sounds S e R em Português, there are two other sounds which are also very important in Português: X e CH. The sound X could be a difficult one for a non-native since there are four different ways of pronouncing…