{"id":5629,"date":"2014-07-23T16:38:34","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T16:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/?p=5629"},"modified":"2014-07-23T16:38:34","modified_gmt":"2014-07-23T16:38:34","slug":"how-to-say-ive-been-doing-in-portuguese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/how-to-say-ive-been-doing-in-portuguese\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Say “I’ve Been Doing” in Portuguese"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Image by Jos Dielis via Flickr – http:\/\/ow.ly\/zvbfc<\/p><\/div>\n

Ol\u00e1, pessoal!<\/p>\n

I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years (please don’t do the math!) and every year both my English and Portuguese students have the same problem: the Present Perfect.<\/p>\n

The Present Perfect, in English, happens in sentences like:<\/p>\n

I’ve spoken<\/strong> to him many times.<\/em>
\n Have you ever done<\/strong> this?<\/em>
\n I haven’t seen him<\/strong> yet.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Portuguese it can be translated in so many ways, but today we’re going to focus on the continuous form. First, let’s learn how to say “for” and “since” in Portuguese.<\/p>\n

For<\/strong> = por, h\u00e1, faz. It indicates how long an activity has been going on – it started in the past and it still continues.<\/p>\n

for many years = por muitos anos, h\u00e1 muitos anos, faz muitos anos<\/em>
\n for three months = por tr\u00eas meses, h\u00e1 tr\u00eas meses, faz tr\u00eas meses<\/em><\/p>\n

When do we use por, h\u00e1 and faz? It all depends on context, there’s no fixed rule.<\/p>\n

Since<\/strong> = desde. It shows when an activity started and it still continues.<\/p>\n

since 1998 = desde 1998<\/em>
\n since I was a kid = desde que eu era crian\u00e7a<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, Adir, how do you say “I’ve been doing” in Portuguese?<\/p>\n

Well, you can translate it as the Present Continuous, the Simple Past or the Simple Present:<\/p>\n

I’ve been running all morning. – Estou correndo<\/strong> a manh\u00e3 toda. \/ Estive correndo<\/strong> a manh\u00e3 toda.
\nYou’ve been working here for a long time. – Voc\u00ea est\u00e1 trabalhando \/ trabalha<\/strong> aqui faz um bom tempo.
\nHe’s been talking to her about it. – Ele est\u00e1\/anda falando<\/strong> com ela sobre isso.
\nShe’s been looking for you everywhere. – Ela est\u00e1 te procurando<\/strong> por todos os lugares.
\nIt’s been raining for two hours. – Est\u00e1 chovendo<\/strong> h\u00e1\/faz duas horas.
\nWe’ve been watching TV all day. – Estamos assistindo<\/strong> TV o dia todo.
\nThey’ve been playing tenning since they were kids. – Eles jogam<\/strong> t\u00eanis desde que eram crian\u00e7as.<\/p>\n

So it’s kind of tricky to translate this verb tense into Portuguese – you’ll have to analyze the context. Don’t worry, Brazilians have the same problem learning the perfect tenses in English. So my piece of advice is: pay closer attention to what you listen to and read and try to understand the situation where it happens so you’ll know how to say that in English.<\/p>\n

Take care and see you next time!<\/p>\n

Want more free resources to\u00a0learn Portuguese<\/a>? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Ol\u00e1, pessoal! I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years (please don’t do the math!) and every year both my English and Portuguese students have the same problem: the Present Perfect. The Present Perfect, in English, happens in sentences like: I’ve spoken to him many times. Have you ever done this? I haven’t seen him…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[379352],"class_list":["post-5629","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-grammar"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t