Time for some action! 🕺🏻💃🏻 We’ve covered a few basics already, but we won’t get very far without talking about verbosverbs . This Learning Note is a brief overview of how Portuguese verbs work, as well as the personal pronouns associated with each conjugation.
Just like in English, a Portuguese verb expresses an action. For example:
cantarto sing
serto be
beberto drink
Each verb can appear in many different forms. In fact, each verb has over 50 different conjugations! Luckily, there are rules you will learn to make each conjugation easier to remember, and not all 50 forms are used on a daily basis. Phew! 😅
Types of Verbs
In Portuguese, verbs are generally split into three groups based on the last two letters of the verb’s infinitive form:
Regular vs. Irregular: Each of the 3 groups above has its own rules for which verb endings to apply to the verb stem. A verb is considered regular if it follows the typical rules for its group. Unfortunately, we also have to learn those pesky irregular verbs, which don’t follow the rules and just have to be memorized. (Keep in mind that some verbs follow the regular rules in some tenses, but are irregular in other tenses.)
We’ll explore each type in more detail later in this Unit. For now, here’s an example of how to conjugate one of the most common irregular verbs, ser:
Indicativo
Eu sou o João. Ela é a Ana.I am João. She is Ana.
What Does a Verb’s Conjugation Tell You?
Depending on the situation, you can get all the following information just from the conjugated verb:
- Who is doing the action (me, you, him, her, etc)
- The number of people (e.g. I vs. we, you – singular vs. you – plural, etc.)
- Whether your relationship to that person is formal or informal
- When the action is happening (e.g. past, present, future tense)
- The certainty (based on which tense/mood is used)
- and, of course, the action itself
Personal Pronouns
Who (or what) is doing the action? Here are the words used for each of the Portuguese personal pronouns / subject pronouns:
- EuI
- TuYou(informal)
- EleHe ElaShe VocêYou(formal)
- NósWe
- ElesThey(masculine or mixed group) ElasThey(feminine) VocêsYou(plural)
3rd Person Verb Conjugations
*Você and vocês are technically 2nd person (you), however, they are typically grouped in the 3rd person category for simplicity, because this is how they are conjugated.
The verb forms for the personal pronouns ele, ela, and você are always conjugated the same way. (E.g. “Ele é…”, “Ela é…”, “Você é…”) Similarly, the verb forms for eles, elas, and vocês are also always conjugated the same way. (E.g. “Eles são…”, “Elas são…”, Vocês são…”)
When we’re talking about a group of females, we use the word elas, and for a group of males, eles. If the group is made up of both males and females, we also use eles. As sexist as it sounds, you could have a group of 1000 females, but just by adding one guy to the group, elas becomes eles!
What About “It”?
“It” corresponds to the 3rd person singular verb conjugation, but Portuguese doesn’t actually use neutral pronouns like it. In cases where you would expect it to be used, there is often no pronoun at all. For example: É sábadoIt's Saturday .
That said, sometimes ele or ela can be used to refer to inanimate objects, depending on whether they are masculine or feminine nouns. Or, in some contexts, you would use the word issothat or a clitic pronoun.
Omitting Personal Pronouns
Omitting the pronoun is not just for “it”, though. In Portuguese, it’s very common to omit the personal pronoun (eg. eu, tu, ele, etc.) preceding a verb. This is because in most contexts the verb conjugation already tells you who is doing the action.
For example: Eu gosto de músicaI like music = Gosto de músicaI like music
Present Tense
We’ll teach you verbs in the present tense (presente do indicativo) first. This will be the main tense we use throughout the A1 level. In Portuguese, present tense is pretty versatile because it can be used to talk about current or habitual actions / states of being. ‘Current’ means something that is happening right now, and ‘habitual’ means something that happens regularly. In many cases, it can even refer to the immediate future. For example, Eu pago could translate to I pay or I’ll pay, depending on the context.
Here are just a few more common verb conjugations that are helpful to be familiar with early on. For reference, members can access hundreds more under Learn > Verbs.
Indicativo
Ele tem dois filhos e duas filhasHe has two sons and two daughters
Indicativo
Ela vai ao supermercado todos os diasShe goes to the supermarket every day
Indicativo
Eu posso fazer tudoI can do everything
Till now all is so simple and clear to learn, Thank you very much ^^ I love this website!
Thanks so much, it’s great to have you with us. Obrigado pelo teu apoio 🙂
I feel like it would have been useful to hear the whole phrase e.g. we just heard “sou” not “eu sou”
That is because the personal pronoun is omitted.
I would like that too. Just to have the auditory piece in my mind, whether the pronoun is used or not in actually speaking.
I agree, would be nice.
All this brings back my former Portuguese lessons…
Great site…
This site is great. The grammar structure is very similar to Italian so fortunately this makes sense to me but the pronunciation is tricky so the spoken examples are very helpful
Great so far
Easy learning
Is the personal pronoun also omitted in written Portuguese?
Yes, it happens in both spoken and written Portuguese!
Honestly, I should have started years ago!
Useful unit
Love the pronunciation examples !
Is vós not used in Portugal?
Hi Dave! Vós is used, but it’s an archaic form. You may still see it in literature or extremely formal/ceremonial contexts. We chose not to cover it here in order to focus on the forms that you’ll encounter most often in spoken language.
One place you will often hear “vós” is in church.
This module is clear and easy to learn.
Thanks, Andrew 🙂
Just started using this site, after my husband has been using for a few months, and we LOVE IT! It is well paced, organized, and fun! Thank you and keep up the great work!
Thank you both! I hope PP’s resources are keeping you well entertained during these strange times 🙂
Hi there! Thanks so much for this resource, I’m really enjoying it so far. Do some Portuguese people consciously break the rules when it come to eles? Like in English we now could use ‘she’, ‘s/he’ or ‘they’ where before only ‘he’ Would have been acceptable. Thanks!
Thank you for your comment, Frances! Do you mean something like using only “elas” for a group of people where there are also men, for example? At least in my experience, I see people do it on occasion in casual contexts, but always in a cheeky way. And they still end up acknowledging the one guy among 1000 women, even if just by saying “and you too, of course” 🙂 Apart from that, there are more people writing variations such as “elxs”, as a way to be inclusive to all genders or the lack of them, but it doesn’t translate well to speech… I’m curious to see how that will evolve.
That’s really interesting, thanks! Someone mentioned to me that you can say ‘obrigad’ too, rather than obrigado or obrigada. Is that something you’ve heard anyone saying?
Sure, you’re welcome!
It’s really hard to say if I’ve ever come across someone purposely saying “obrigad”. We naturally swallow lots of vowels when we talk, so that wouldn’t stand out to me at all. “Obrigado”, in particular, is often pronounced just like “obrigad”. So, I really don’t know. And maybe that’s why the person told you that – it doesn’t make much of a difference.
Quero dar os parabéns ao Rui e ao Joel pela excelente funcionalidade do site e pelo modo prático como estão a permitir aprender o português.
Bem gradual, bem apelativo. Muito bom. Parabéns.
This is intense, I like it a little bit though {From Elijah 7 years old} with my mum helping me
Elijah, keep up the good work! You’re right, this is tough. We’re very impressed that you’re up for the challenge!
Thanks Molly!
I’m impressed. I started learning with Portuguese Lab (also helpful) and then learned about your site from my iTalki teacher Ana. I’m so glad that I found you!
Loving this so much — thank you!!
My first TL was French where despite the written forms being very different, the spoken form of the conjugation was almost always identical, so personal pronouns are never omitted. I new of “pro drop” Romance languages, like Italian, where the conjugations are distinct in the spoken language, so it’s quite exciting to see this difference so early on 🙂 I know I’m just being a geek, but this is cool.
That’s really cool! Feel free to geek out anytime 🙂
This is so simple and fun. I went to Portuguese lessons for a year and found it so difficult, I made no progress and the rest of the class left me behind. This is much better. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Charlotte! Even with in-person lessons, sometimes it takes some luck to find the approach that works best for you. Hopefully, you’ll now be able to move forward 🙂
Hi, I’m new here and really like it so far. I started working on Portuguese with the idea of moving with my wife to Portugal in about two years. So far, we have been learning vocabulary using Gabriel Wyner’s Fluent Forever and Anki flashcards. This is really helping to pull it together.
I’m curious about the use of “de” as a preposition in the sentence “Gosto de música”. When would you typically use this preposition? To me it literally translates to “I like in music”. Is there any rule about how to use this?
Thanks,
Paula
Welcome Paula! Prepositions are tricky because they fulfill a more relational/functional role, rather than providing a lot of meaning. So the translation in English can vary quite a bit. There are also a lot of contexts in which a preposition is used in Portuguese, but not used at all in English, such as this one. “De” always follows the verb “gostar” when talking about what one likes. We translate this to “I like music” because that’s the most similar meaning, but you could think of it as “I am fond of music” if that helps you remember to use de. You’ll learn more about when to use each preposition in the Prepositions units, but you can skip ahead now to read more about The Preposition “De” if you’d like. 🙂
Thank you so much Molly, that totally helps, especially the “I am fond of music” way of looking at it.
Cheers,
Paula
Ola Practise Portuguese team. I’m new and I wanted to say thank you for this unit; I can finally clearly hear the difference between ela/ele and elas/eles, and pronounce them properly. Hooray!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for sharing your progress — that’s wonderful to hear. Those are very hard to distinguish so we’re so glad we could help!
Very helful.
Thank you , Stella
Great explanation. Thank you,
Stella
Thank you, Stella!
Nice
If “The verb forms for the personal pronouns ele, ela, and você are always conjugated the same way.” Why are there two (identical) entries in the list of conjugations, not one? Seems pointless, or am I missing something? Same for eles, etc.
You’re right, we could have just put those together to simplify. I think we decided to separate them initially because even though they are all conjugated the same (as if they are 3rd person), ele/ela/eles/elas are in the 3rd person, while você and vocês are technically in the 2nd person.
An intriguing and ingenious site….and fun. Your casual and friendly approach seems like I am in your living room talking with you. I am beginner – we are moving to Portugal. I have access to other sites and tapes, plus have a tutor. However, your site is the FINAL answer if I have a question. Speaking of a question: in the present tense, I hear the “Eu” and “Ele” sounding the same. Is that my ear? “Ela” is more distinct.
You two deserve all the best life can offer.
Thank you SO much for the kind words! Really glad we could make a difference in your learning. Rui and Joel have put a lot of work into making the site both informative and approachable, so it’s so nice to hear. 🙂
Eu and ele sound a bit similar, but I think over time you will start to be able to hear the difference more. The “L” in ele is quite subtle because it’s followed by that closed “e” vowel, whereas the a in ela is a bit more open, so I think that’s what’s making ele/eu harder to distinguish.
Molly: thank you for your prompt response. Yes, I will not listen for the “l” in ele! Like Joel pronouncing the silent “H” when he and Rui are going over the sounds of the consonants – funny. This site has been so rewarding for me that I had my spouse sign up a few days ago. Hopefully, he and I will be able to move to Portugal soon, I am waiting on my visa. We already rent a flat in Coimbra, but can’t get to it Muito Obrigado, Mell
I have to say in my long association with Portugal Ive learned loads of vocabulary but never bothered with the grammer and Im really enjoying your course and together with an online tutor Vanessa Im slowly but surely making progress! Thank You guys!
So glad to hear you’re making progress! Thanks for the support! 🙂
great lesson and the hearing part essential
I am a bit confused. Why is “vós” the informal plural form of you no longer used in conjugation?
Vós used to be the pronoun used for 2nd person plural (i.e. when speaking to more than 1 person). However, nowadays it is rarely used, except in certain areas or in ceremonial contexts. Instead, the pronoun vocês is used for 2nd personal plural, but it has the same conjugation as 3rd person plural. Does that help?
Thank you for the response. But if it is part of the Portuguese PT language why is it omitted from lessons? On the internet (Dicionário infopédia for example) lists first, second and third person singular and first, second and third person plural for verbs, not even mentioning você or vocês. I thought this might have been a Brazilian influence of not using vós.
Olá, Ranjita. It was a choice not to actively cover the pronoun vós in lessons because in most of the country, ‘vocês’ has become the default second-person plural over ‘vós’ or it coexists with it, so the significant burden of learning to conjugate Portuguese verbs using ‘vós’ will not necessarily pay off for the average learner.
So far, we have focused more on what people truly are expected to know and use anywhere they go – which is not to say that ‘vós’ doesn’t matter at all, or that the current approach isn’t subject to future change 🙂 ‘Vós’ is still a formal element of Portuguese grammar and is taught in all Portuguese schools from a young age. ‘Vocês’ is usually addressed separately from the standard subject pronouns, at least for the time being. While not actively covered on Practice Portuguese, ‘vós’ does get some occasional features, such as in the Passo a Passo documentary, where it was one of the major linguistic topics: Passo a Passo (O Caminho de Santiago)
Correction* Dicionário infopédia does use você or vocês.
Muito obrigada
It is very interesting lesson to me as i am a beginer. But i know a bit french and i see a very close relationship especialy in conjugating verbs, respecting number, gender to a subject concern.
It’s been a while my dear Portuguese!
I have just come back from my holidays in Portugal. 🤙 I fell in love… Again! Nice to be back on track with the language.
Thank you guys for this amazing content you’re creating 👏
Thank you so much for your comment and kind feedback, Sylwia! Also, it’s great that you were able to have a good time in Portugal despite the current restrictions 🙂
Olá todos! If I am trying to speak to a group of people and say “where are you all from?” How do I do this? I believe in Brazilian Portuguese you may say: De onde vocês são?, but assuming you do not want to use vocês, how would you say this? Another example – “I am excited to be here with you all.”
Olá, Ben 🙂 “Vocês” is fine to use and rather neutral in terms of formality, so “De onde vocês são?” or “De onde é que vocês são?” are also suitable options in European Portuguese. If you want to be very formal, you can replace “vocês” with “os senhores/as senhoras”, for example. As for “I am excited to be here with you all”, you could say something like “Estou feliz por estar aqui convosco” or “Estou feliz por estar aqui com todos vocês”. (Note: The Portuguese adjective “excitado” should be used with caution, hah)
Muito obrigado pela tua ajuda!! This makes so much more sense now!
Claro, de nada!
Just wanted to ask whether we can already start learning past and future conjugations of verbs? Or is it something you would not recommend? 🙂
Good question!
As for the future, we’ll introduce Informal Future (the most common way to talk about the future) in an upcoming unit within the A1 series. In some contexts, present tense can also be used to refer to the future. (For example – Eu pago could mean I pay or I’ll pay, depending on the context.) We don’t have a unit on the “real” future tense (futuro do indicativo) yet, just because it’s not used as often. But you can practice it separately in the Verb section (under Learn).
As for past tense, we won’t officially introduce Simple Past (pretérito perfeito) until the A2 level.
That said, if you’re not overwhelmed and you feel like it’s relevant or interesting to you right now, I would always recommend skipping ahead (or at least trying it out in the Verbs section).
Even though it’s typically taught at A2, past tense is very useful to know and will expand the types of things you can talk about. There’s no harm in skipping ahead whenever you feel ready or motivated to explore a particular topic. You can always go back to A1 and continue along the regular path whenever you want.
Muito obrigado! Your answer helped me a lot! 🎉
I’m familiar with Spanish and French, and used my Spanish when I went to Porto and Alvor out of season (which I loved). The receptionist at our hotel told me that “The Portuguese can understand the Spanish, but mostly the Spaniards can’t understand Portuguese.” This whetted my appetite and curiosity, so now, at 76, I’m embarking on Portuguese… and now I understand why he said that! Thank you so much for this site, which complements the other site I’m learning from.
By the way, I also speak Welsh, which I started learning in my sixties. It’s not related to any other mainstream European language, which made it a real challenge!
Diolch yn fawr iawn (muito obrigada)
Hi , just a bit confused .. why is the first letter ‘o’ in podemos pronounce with an oo sound as in swimming pool, yet in the word podem it is just an English ‘o’ as in Tod, rod, cod, etc?
Olá, John. The difference is in whether the O is stressed or not. In both words, the stressed syllable is the second to last one. In “podem” (po-dem), this coincides with the O and makes it sound more open. In “podemos” (po-de-mos), the O is unstressed, which is why it sounds like an oo.
Ah, very helpful, Joseph. Thank you. Makes sense now!
You’re welcome, David!
Admittedly I found Practice Portuguese (after Duolingo and Babel) because I wanted to learn European Portuguese. However, I find the way you present the language and the variety of the speakers on video quite helpful. Thanks so much!
Is there any logic for the pronunciation of the letter ‘O’?
I’ve read through the guide you provide (https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-vowels/) but I still don´t understand why
you use an open O in podem but a U in podemos.
Olá! Yes, there is 🙂 The difference is in whether the O is stressed or not. In both words, the stressed syllable is the second to last one. In “podem” (po-dem), this coincides with the O and makes it sound more open. In “podemos” (po-de-mos), the O is unstressed, which is why it sounds like an oo.
Hi! Do I understand that you are teaching us to use você as you singular? I have hardly heard this in Portugal and have been told by many Portuguese that você should always be avoided. This, for me, is the most difficult thing about spoken Portuguese – having to use a person’s name or ‘o senhor’ etc. instead of você. Especially as I first learned a little Portuguese in Brazil where they use você all the time! Could you help me with some advice on usage here? Does this use vary from region to region? I know vocês in the plural is ok and used freely. Thanks!
Yes! You’re right that the word você is usually avoided in European Portuguese. Sometimes it is just dropped and other times different “forms” of você are used instead, such as saying “o senhor” or “a senhora” or using the person’s name (“O Rui…”).
We will go into this topic in detail in one of the upcoming units: Informal You vs Formal You.
In this Learning Note, we wanted to introduce you to the basic pronouns and regular conjugations before getting into that complexity. 🙂 All the forms of você go with the same 3rd person singular conjugation (verb endings), so it’s helpful to group all of them under the você category, even though you’re not actually using the word você that often.
This website/app is amazing!
Muito obrigado!
Coming from a linguistic frame of mind where I learned sufficient spanish to carry on a rudimentary conversation, the pronunciation of portuguese makes no sense. Its literally all over the place. Im sure it must get easier
Olá Stephen!
It will surely get easier as you go along. Don’t give up!
Cheers,
Luís
is e supposed to be an open vowel sound in têm?
As you can see on the table about European Portuguese Vowels on this link
https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-vowels/
the “e” in the word “têm” is approximately the sound of a medium “a”, which is right in the middle of the chart, with the example “amigo”.
I hear “pod.” (pode, with an o)
and then “Pudemush) Instead of Podemosh . I mean, saying “Pode”, the o sounds like an o. Saying Podemos, the first o sounds like an u. The second o sounds like an u, but less pronounced. Why does the first o sounds like an u in this case and not in Pode?
Olá! In the verb conjugations of “poder”, the vowel O is open whenever it falls on a stressed syllable (eu pOsso, tu pOdes, ele pOde, eles pOdem…), but closed whenever the syllable is unstressed (nós podemos…). You’ll note that the vowel E is subject to the same variation depending on stress (sounding more open and present in ‘podEmos’, and closed and barely pronounced in other conjugations) 🙂
Hi! I think I spotted a little mistake… the sound for ‘eles’ is the same as ‘elas’… 🙂
Olá! Thanks for your comment 🙂 Actually, the audio examples are correct, but the two words can be difficult to distinguish. You have to really listen for the open E in ‘Elas’, vs. the medium E in ‘Eles’. Then, you have to listen carefully to the second vowel – the A in ‘elAs’ is more open than the E in ‘elEs’. This vowel pronunciation guide is really helpful to explore the differences between different vowel sounds.
Hi
I’m a little bit confused with the “Omitting Personal Pronouns” section. You mention it’s common to omit the personal pronoun preceding a verb ( e.g. Eu gosto de música vs gosto de música). However, in other parts you include the personal pronoun (e.g. Eu sou de França). I understand they are both grammatically correct but what is more common in “real” conversations in Portuguese, Omitting or including the personal pronoun?
Thanks
Olá!
I have to say that omitting the personal pronoun tends to be more common… However, it may depend a lot on the context and even the intent. For example, if you want to be very assertive you’d probably use the personal pronoun. If you’re talking about someone, you’d use it, but during the conversation you could stop using it since you already know who you’re talking about.
Examples:
– Gostas de café? (Do you like coffee?) – omitted
– Eu sei que não gostas de café! (I know that you don’t like coffee!) – “Eu” not omitted. “Tu” omitted. Here the “Eu” makes the sentence more assertive. Like strongly stating that I know that you don’t like coffee.
– Mas tu disseste isso! (But you said that!) “Tu” not ommited to state that YOU said yes. No doubt about it.
– Eles vieram ontem. Gostaram muito de cá estar. (They came yesterday. They really enjoyed being here.) The first “eles” is not omitted so that we know who we’re talking about. The second “eles” is omitted because we already know it’s them.
So, there’s no particular rule wether to use the personal pronoun or omit it.
We tend to include it on Practice Portuguese to help our members know exactly who the subject is, since it may create some confusion on those who may not master the language yet!
A lot of times I can understand what I read in Portuguese, I just have had no clue how to pronounce it. I was using Duolingo, but I’ve noticed the difference just in the word “ele.” The pronunciation is so different in Brazilian Portuguese just in that word alone and for a foreigner learning, this site makes all the difference to be truly understood in Portugal. Thanks!
I had been learning Portuguese on Duolingo for a year and a half before I found Practice Portuguese. I’ve been at PP now for a bit, and a comparison is in order.
Duolingo is great for learning vocabulary, putting sentences together and lots and lots of repetitive practice. I’ve found that after a year, I could read useful amounts of written Portuguese on signs, in newspapers, etc. And that made it pretty useful when I was actually in Portugal.
What it does NOT do is these things:
– Explain any rule of grammar or any of that sort of thing.
– Explain usages and customs, practical matter of everyday speech, etc.
– Teach you how to actually pronounce and speak European Portuguese. In Portugal, even when I knew I was using the correct sentence, people found my Duolingo Portuguese unintelligible.
– Teach you to understand Portuguese people when they speak. I found them unintelligible too.
Duolingo just shows you words and phrases and then beats them into you with no explanation whatever of what you’re doing or why.
All that said, I still use Duolingo every day. It’s perfect for getting as much repetitive practice as you want. It would be very helpful for the guy that says he can’t remember anything. Duolingo is designed to address that very problem. He should give himself 6 months of Duolingo, half an hour a day. He’d be surprised at how much he remembers.
Just ignore the pronunciations, they’re useless. It’s for reading and writing. (This is not true for Duolingo Spanish, the pronunciation there is ok)
But when It’s time to speak or to listen, or to understand why you’re saying what you’re saying, or to go deeper into the language, PP is the way to go. Nothing else like it is out there. Duolingo won’t teach you any of these things. In particular, the shorties are really, really helpful. I listen to them over and over again at .7 speed, translation on, to hear how the sentences really sound, and go back to repeat individual sentences. You can’t get that anyplace else, and it is immeasurably helpful.
So I say, use both. They both most definitely have their places. But PP will be your main tool for really getting at the learning of Portuguese.
Thanks so much for all the kind words, John! So glad you’re getting a lot out of Practice Portuguese. If you haven’t tried it yet, I would also recommend checking out our Smart Review tool (under “Learn” in the menu) which is designed for lots of repetitive practice. More info here. 😉
Is the initial ‘E’ in the pronouns ele, ela, eles, elas pronounced the same? I can hear the difference between the final -e in Ele and final -a in Ela, but sometimes the initial E in the two words sounds different to me.
Olá! It’s not pronounced the same. “Ele” and “Eles” are pronounced with a medium E, while “ela” and “elas” are pronounced with an open E. (“medium” and “open” as defined in this pronunciation guide: Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Vowels | Practice Portuguese)
Thanks for offering such a useful way to learn! Hearing the words spoken by is invaluable. For me as a beginner it would be help to hear the personal pronoun articulated even if it isn’t actually used when speaking. It becomes easier to remember then, and for a repetition.of the pronunciation as well!
At school I learned Latin verbs in the form amo, amas amat, amamos etc. Latin does not have the personal pronoun as far as I recall. I don’t know if I have spelled these correctly after 55 years- but the point is I found it quick and easy to memorise the verbs without the personal pronoun and am learning Portuguese verbs the same way, chanting in my head sou, és é somos etc. Thanks great site.
Hello, at the end of each lesson there is a little tag line.
Practice Portuguese “bom tu ……?”
What are they saying?
Thank you, greg
Joel: Practice Portuguese…
Rui: …ponto com
“Ponto com” means “dot com”, as in PracticePortuguese.com 🙂
It is worth it to read the comments after every lesson! You can learn so much from them, perhaps as much as you did in the lesson itself. Mysteries are unraveled in the comments, such as “ponto com” above!
Regarding the pronunciation of “ele” versus “ela” I have a trick: to me, saying them together sounds a bit like saying, in Italian, “il e la” (which, in that language each mean “the,” but this trick does produce nearly the correct sound for each in European Portuguese. Some Italians will produce a higher “i” than the sound needed for “ele”.)
Rui and Joel, help! I am leaning Portuguese and practicing with my Portuguese-born husband. He pronounces nós “NOHZ”. I am saying “NOSH” (as pronounced in Practice Portuguese). He keeps correcting me! Please settle this debate – which is correct? He is wondering if he has been pronouncing this wrong his whole life, LOL…
Waaaaaait, I think you better send us a recording, either to our Instagram or via email, [email protected]. When it comes to domestic disputes, you’ve come to the right place! Also, what region of Portugal is he from?
Great!
In ‘Eu gosto de música’ does the “de” mean something other than “from”? I thought de means from as in “Eu sou de Portugal.”
Olá! The verb ‘gostar’ requires the preposition ‘de’ as a structural connector, which doesn’t really translate to anything in English. At best, you can think of it as something like “being fond OF something”. Keep in mind that this preposition is very versatile (as are most prepositions in Portuguese) and open to different uses and meanings, as discussed in this Learning Note: The Preposition “De” | Practice Portuguese
See also: How to Talk About Likes and Dislikes in Portuguese | Practice Portuguese
The girl pronounces this almost like the English word “eel” whereas some of the men pronounce it more like the letter “L” which I thought was more correct.
Is this just a difference of locality in Portugal?? Much the same as the accent can be so different all through Ireland, Scotland, England?!
This aside, I am loving this down-to-earth, very clever and interesting course. Off to Porto next month so I will listen to how they say “ele” there.
Boas Festas! Joao Wood.
Olá! Thank you very much for your kind words about our course 🙂
About the audio examples here, there’s perhaps a slight difference in articulation, but this would fall within the natural range of individual variation, rather than demonstrating different accents. But keep an open ear during your time in Porto, as you should notice some distinct pronunciation patterns there, compared to the average Lisbon accent (the one that is heard the most across Practice Portuguese).
Many thanks for your quick and helpful reply, Joseph.
I will indeed be listening for that “Northern” difference in the Porto accent— while enjoying the best of their salmao grehaldo, salada e sagres preta!
Boas Festas!
You’re welcome! And careful – you might find that Super Bock is much more popular than Sagres up north 🙂
Olá
New here and loving it so far!
How would you refer to someone who is non-binary or if you do not know their gender? (E.g. Singular they. “someone left their bag here, I wonder if they will come and get it”.)
Obrigado
Brad
Olá! There is no formally standardized way of addressing non-binary people, but there are proposals in place, the main one being the “elu” system (so, ending third-person pronouns in U, instead of A or E). Here’s an external link to the best guide I could find recently (in Portuguese): Guia Prático Para Um Português Inclusivo
Otherwise, in an example like the one you gave, we don’t even really need pronouns. We could say, for example, “Alguém deixou uma mala aqui, será que a pessoa vem buscá-la?” or just “…será que vem buscá-la?” 🙂
I love the layout of all, great job 👏
At first I studied Portugese with 17MinutesLanguages, but that site was really full of errors and carelessness and missed grammatical explanation. After that I found that Babbel was teaching Brasilian instead of Portugese. I am so happy now to discover your site and app. Very clear structure, a pleasure to study Portugese together with my wife. We intend to move to Portugal in the near future to live nearby our son and his love.