{"id":5872,"date":"2014-09-15T21:13:49","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T21:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/?p=5872"},"modified":"2014-10-01T18:14:08","modified_gmt":"2014-10-01T18:14:08","slug":"how-to-use-ha-or-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/how-to-use-ha-or-a\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Use “H\u00e1” or “A”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"livros\"<\/a>

Image by az via Flickr – http:\/\/ow.ly\/Bx4PT<\/p><\/div>\n

Hello there!<\/p>\n

If you’ve been studying Portuguese for some time you may have noticed that we have a lot of homophones – those words that sound the same but are written somewhat differently (homo = same; phono = sound<\/em>).<\/p>\n

As these words are confusing, many people don’t get them write when they write them. Such is the case of “h\u00e1”<\/em> and “a”.<\/em> They sound exactly the same, buy are used in two different situations.<\/p>\n

H\u00e1<\/strong><\/p>\n

H\u00e1<\/em>, when are are talking about time, means “for”. It indicates that an action started in the past and still continues into the present. Remember: h\u00e1 always relates to something that started in the past.<\/p>\n

Some examples:<\/p>\n

Estou estudando h\u00e1<\/strong> meia hora. – I’ve been studying for<\/strong> half an hour.
\nEle \u00e9 m\u00e9dico h\u00e1<\/strong> dez anos. – He’s been a doctor for<\/strong> ten years.
\nN\u00e3o viajo h\u00e1<\/strong> muito tempo. – I haven’t traveled for<\/strong> a long time.<\/p>\n

When you want to ask questions, use “h\u00e1 quanto tempo”<\/em> (how long):<\/p>\n

H\u00e1 quanto tempo<\/strong> voc\u00ea est\u00e1 estudando? – How long<\/strong> have you been studying?
\nH\u00e1 quanto tempo<\/strong> ele \u00e9 m\u00e9dico? – How long<\/strong> has he been a doctor?
\nH\u00e1 quanto tempo<\/strong> voc\u00ea n\u00e3o viaja? – How long<\/strong> haven’t you traveled?<\/p>\n

We can replace “h\u00e1”<\/em> by “faz”<\/em> in the sentences above.<\/p>\n

Estou estudando faz<\/strong> meia hora. – I’ve been studying for<\/strong> half an hour.
\nEle \u00e9 m\u00e9dico faz<\/strong> dez anos. – He’s been a doctor for<\/strong> ten years.
\nN\u00e3o viajo faz<\/strong> muito tempo. – I haven’t traveled for<\/strong> a long time.<\/p>\n

In the question form, we add “que”<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Faz quanto tempo que<\/strong> voc\u00ea est\u00e1 estudando? – How long have you been studying?
\nFaz quanto tempo que<\/strong> ele \u00e9 m\u00e9dico? – How long has he been a doctor?
\nFaz quanto tempo que<\/strong> voc\u00ea n\u00e3o viaja? – How long haven’t you traveled?<\/p>\n

A<\/strong><\/p>\n

We use “a”<\/em> when we indicate an action that is going to happen in the future.<\/p>\n

Estamos a<\/strong> dois dias do evento. – The event is going to happen in two days.
\nVou viajar daqui a<\/strong> uma semana. – I’m going to travel one week from today.
\nEstamos a<\/strong> dez minutos de onde voc\u00ea est\u00e1. – We’re ten minutes (away) from where you are.<\/p>\n

“A”<\/em> is usually used in the following expressions:<\/p>\n

daqui a pouco – in a while
\ndaqui a dois dias – in two days
\ndaqui a tr\u00eas meses – in three months
\ndaqui a uma semana – one week from today<\/p>\n

In spoken Portuguese it sounds the same, but if you want to write good Portuguese, remember these rules.<\/p>\n

Nos vemos em breve!<\/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":"\"\"

Hello there! If you’ve been studying Portuguese for some time you may have noticed that we have a lot of homophones – those words that sound the same but are written somewhat differently (homo = same; phono = sound). As these words are confusing, many people don’t get them write when they write them. Such…<\/p>\n

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