Archive for 'Learning'
Sarcastic Depois Posted by Rachel on Feb 4, 2011
We’ve learned about sarcastic expressions before, but here’s another one you can use. Depois is normally used to mean after or later, in this context: Vou terminar o projeto depois. I’m going to finish the project later. Ela foi para casa depois de ver o filme. She went home after seeing the movie. But you…
What Went Wrong? Posted by Rachel on Jan 27, 2011
You’ll find plenty of funny viral videos from Brazil on the Web, and they’re great learning opportunities if you’re learning Portuguese. Let’s take a look at a couple. Game Show Can you correctly answer the question? Here are the clues: 1. É um pais da Europa; 2. No passado invadiu o Brasil; 3. Terra das…
Arrasado Posted by Rachel on Jan 11, 2011
There are some words in Portuguese that have multiple meanings, but their most literal meanings relate to their other meanings. Arrasado is such a word, and it’s a helpful adjective to know. Let’s take a look at the different uses and some examples. 1. Demolished, crushed, knocked down O prédio foi arrasado durante o terremoto…
Email in Brazil Posted by Rachel on Dec 30, 2010
Though we don’t stop to think about it much, the pace of technology has moved incredibly quickly in the last decade, and it’s funny to think that in our lifetimes, the Internet was a new phenomenon. I recently came across a very funny video, a news report about electronic mail on a Brazilian news channel…
Putz Grila! Posted by Rachel on Dec 28, 2010
One of the best ways to speak like a native is to pepper your speech with colloquial phrases and slang, which is why we’ve been focusing on these expressions lately. Awhile back, we learned about some exclamations, including putz. This word means oh no! or darn it! or uh oh! and is used as an…
Para Variar Posted by Rachel on Dec 20, 2010
There’s an interesting slangy expression in Portuguese that is used to express sarcasm, and it’s a helpful one to know to throw into conversation to sound more like a native. Let’s take a look at how it’s used. Para variar literally means “for a change,” but when used in conversation, it actually means the opposite…
Lula on Wikileaks Posted by Rachel on Dec 17, 2010
Last week, President Lula took a moment to discuss Wikileaks and his thoughts on the controversial website. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese but you can also watch the video without them to practice your listening comprehension. Have a look and see if you can answer the questions. Questions 1. What…