Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Advérbios – Adverbs Posted by Nicole on Jul 25, 2015
Adverbs in Portuguese are very similar to adverbs in English. They are adjetivos (adjectives) that describe a verbo (verb). Also, English adverbs generally end in -ly, while Portuguese adverbs usually end in -mente. For example: A Luana canta bem. (Luana sings well.) O João provavelmente está doente. (João is probably sick.) Other times, an adverb can be…
6 Portuguese expressions with “mão” (hand) Posted by Ester on Jul 20, 2015
Today we are going to take a look at some expressions that Brazilians use in day-to-day conversation that use the word mão (hand). Estar com a faca e o queijo na mão – literally to have the knife and cheese in your hands Have the power to do something or have the power over something…
Por que, por quê, porque, e porquê – What’s the difference? Posted by Nicole on Jul 16, 2015
Por que, por quê, porque, and porquê all look pretty much the same, but they all mean something different. Show your Portuguese prowess by mastering each of them. Por que is the basic form. This literally means por qual razão or por qual motivo, or “why.” Por que você não gosta de chocolate? (Why don’t you…
6 expressions with animals in Portuguese Posted by Ester on Jul 13, 2015
Different animals can mean a variety of things for different cultures. Let’s take a look at some expressions with animals, what they mean as well as when to use them. Pagar o pato This expression translates literally as to “pay the duck”, but it has nothing to do with money or ducks. It means to…
Brazilian sense of humor Posted by Ester on Jul 6, 2015
Sense of humor is intrinsically connected to a country’s language and culture. Watching Brazilian comedy on youtube is a great way of getting to know and understand the Brazilian sense of humor. So let’s take a look at a funny video with some vocabulary explained. You can change the settings on the video to show…
Tips for Learning Portuguese Posted by Nicole on Jul 6, 2015
Olá pessoal! This week, I wanted to give you all some tips on how to stay motivated while learning Portuguese. I started learning Portuguese years ago and I remember coming across some bumps in the road! Here are some tips: 1. Estabelecer objetivos (Set goals) Do you want to be fluente (fluent) in a year?…
Making, accepting and refusing invitations in Portuguese Posted by Ester on Jun 29, 2015
Inviting people to places in a polite way can be tricky if you are not sure what the proper approach is, culturally speaking. For the same reason it could be even more difficult to decline or accept invitations. Convites – invites Saying yes is much simpler than saying no to something. Before we check other ways…