https://www.practiceportuguese.com/ru/learning-notes/ Learn European Portuguese from Portugal Fri, 04 Apr 2025 19:42:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cropped-favicon-PP-wordpress-32x32.png https://www.practiceportuguese.com/ru/learning-notes/ 32 32 Practice Portuguese is for the European Portuguese learner who wants to take the next step towards improving their listening and speaking skills. Don't worry if you can't understand everything at first. Just keep listening and your comprehension will improve with each episode. ~ A melhor forma de aprender uma língua é ser exposto a diálogos da vida real com pessoas nativas dessa língua. Practice Portuguese é para estudantes de português europeu que procuram dar o próximo passo em conversação e compreensão oral. Rui Coimbra / Joel Rendall false episodic Rui Coimbra / Joel Rendall practiceportugueseonline@gmail.com Copyright © 2023 Practice Portuguese Copyright © 2023 Practice Portuguese podcast Practice Portuguese (Learn European Portuguese from Portugal!) http://www.practiceportuguese.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/european-portuguese-podcast-cover.png https://www.practiceportuguese.com/posts-all/ TV-G https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-perfeito-composto-do-indicativo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-perfeito-composto-do-indicativo/#respond Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:23:43 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=975701 The first compound tense we’re going to talk about is the pretérito perfeito composto do indicativo. To keep it short, and since the focus of this unit will just be the indicativo mood, we’ll just call it pretérito perfeito composto. So let’s get to it! As you are likely aware, the pretérito perfeito (simple past […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-perfeito-composto-do-indicativo/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/condicional-composto/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/condicional-composto/#respond Mon, 24 Mar 2025 14:14:25 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=975710 Let’s talk about the compound form of modo condicional (conditional mood), which is the mood used for certain hypothetical situations and possibilities. If you need a refresher on the simple form first, check out this Unit, or here are a couple examples to jog your memory: Now, the compound form of the conditional can indicate a […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/condicional-composto/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/futuro-composto-do-indicativo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/futuro-composto-do-indicativo/#respond Mon, 24 Mar 2025 14:13:46 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=975708 Now we’ll turn our attention to the futuro composto do indicativo! (Let’s call it futuro composto for short) As you’re aware, an action in the futuro simples (simple future tense) takes place after the time the utterance is spoken and isn’t related to any other actions. In the futuro composto, however, the future action represented […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/futuro-composto-do-indicativo/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/more-irregular-verbs-in-the-simple-past/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/more-irregular-verbs-in-the-simple-past/#respond Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:31:25 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=1083858 In the Simple Past 2 unit we practiced with some of the most common irregular Portuguese verbs in the simple past (pretérito perfeito do indicativo): ir, ser, estar, dar, and querer.  Now let’s continue with a few more! As we mentioned before, you may notice that some of the verb endings are the same for […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/more-irregular-verbs-in-the-simple-past/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/nominal-forms/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/nominal-forms/#respond Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:32:09 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=975715 So, what are nominal forms? They are basically verb forms that play a similar role as nouns, adverbs, and adjectives. Unlike other verb forms, they do not indicate tense, mood, or person on their own. Instead, they depend on context (i.e. the surrounding conjugated verbs) to relay that information. The 3 nominal verb forms in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/nominal-forms/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-mais-que-perfeito-composto-do-indicativo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-mais-que-perfeito-composto-do-indicativo/#respond Thu, 05 Dec 2024 19:35:06 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=975704 The pretérito mais-que-perfeito do indicativo is the tense used to indicate an event that took place in the past before another event. As the name suggests, it’s beyond (“more than”) the pretérito perfeito tense. Unlike with pretérito perfeito, the pretérito mais-que-perfeito’s simple and compound forms both have the same meaning. The compound form we’re going […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-mais-que-perfeito-composto-do-indicativo/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/orthographic-agreement/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/orthographic-agreement/#respond Wed, 09 Oct 2024 19:25:54 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=922806 The Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990 (Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa de 1990, a.k.a. the ) came into effect in May 2009. Its goal was to standardize the spelling of Portuguese across Portuguese-speaking countries, particularly Brazil and Portugal. However, its implementation was met with criticism and many practical challenges. First, let’s address a common […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/orthographic-agreement/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/meu-or-o-meu/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/meu-or-o-meu/#comments Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:53:24 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=977133 The purpose of this Learning Note is to address a common question we get from learners after they’ve finished our Unit about possessives in European Portuguese. The question is about when to use definite articles before possessive determiners/pronouns, and when they can be dropped. In other words, what’s the difference between Eles são os meus […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/meu-or-o-meu/feed/ 1 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/phrases-for-your-first-trip-to-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/phrases-for-your-first-trip-to-portugal/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2024 21:27:23 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=471100 If you’re preparing to visit Portugal, mastering a few essential phrases will go a long way toward making your experience smoother and more enjoyable. In this Unit, you’ll practice with simple phrases and vocabulary that could be useful on your first few days or weeks in Portugal. As you navigate the cities, see the sites, enjoy […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/phrases-for-your-first-trip-to-portugal/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/more-portuguese-things/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/more-portuguese-things/#respond Thu, 07 Mar 2024 21:16:32 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=712720 Time for a Portuguese vocabulary boost! If you remember the Things 1 unit, we learned the names for a variety of common objects, such as writing materials and containers. This time, we’re focusing on other objects you find inside the house, or outside in nature, as well as things related to money, electricity, and more. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/more-portuguese-things/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-weather-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-weather-in-portuguese/#respond Wed, 21 Feb 2024 17:50:10 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=797316 It’s time to talk about the weather in European Portuguese! This is everyone’s favourite topic of conversation, right? Well, maybe not. But hey, it’s a good starting point, especially if you don’t know someone well, or you don’t have much else in common. Portuguese Weather Vocabulary The word for weather is the same as the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-weather-in-portuguese/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/spanish-vs-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/spanish-vs-portuguese/#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:00:27 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=258577 Whether you’re a native Spanish speaker, or you just took a few years of Spanish in school, you may be curious about the similarities and differences between Spanish and Portuguese. Are 🇵🇹Portuguese and 🇪🇸Spanish Basically the Same? No. First, let’s clear one thing up: Portuguese and Spanish are not just dialects of the same language.  […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/spanish-vs-portuguese/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/com-licenca-desculpe-perdao/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/com-licenca-desculpe-perdao/#comments Fri, 15 Sep 2023 08:00:54 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=586154 We often get asked about how to say sorry and excuse me in Portuguese. Is there a difference between Com licença and Desculpe? What about Sinto muito? Lamento? Perdão? With so many options that have similar translations, it’s important to take context and cultural norms into account. In this Learning Note, we’ll cover which phrase(s) […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/com-licenca-desculpe-perdao/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/compound-tenses-subjunctive-mood-and-nominal-verb-forms/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/compound-tenses-subjunctive-mood-and-nominal-verb-forms/#comments Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:00:20 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=401877 In Compound Tenses 1, we focused on in the indicative and conditional moods. Now we’ll cover compound tenses in the , as well as . Don’t worry, the basic formula is still the same 😉: auxiliary verb ter + past participle of the main verb. Quick Overview Here are the forms we’ll cover in this […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/compound-tenses-subjunctive-mood-and-nominal-verb-forms/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/compound-tenses-indicative-and-conditional-moods/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/compound-tenses-indicative-and-conditional-moods/#comments Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:00:03 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=401872 Up until now, we’ve mostly been working with simple tenses, but now it’s time to explore the various compound tenses in Portuguese. This Learning Note is just an introduction to the general concepts — we’ll cover each one in more detail as you progress through the Unit. What Are Compound Tenses? A Portuguese verb form […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/compound-tenses-indicative-and-conditional-moods/feed/ 1 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/buildings-and-places-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/buildings-and-places-in-portuguese/#comments Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:00:33 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=713740 In these next 2 units (Places 1 and Places 2) we’ll cover vocabulary for many different types of buildings and places in Portuguese, such as stores, parks, banks, schools, cities, regions, and more. Whether you’re running errands, sightseeing, or just enjoying different regions of Portugal, knowing the names of places will help you communicate about […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/buildings-and-places-in-portuguese/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-saber/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-saber/#comments Tue, 01 Aug 2023 08:00:21 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=283131 The Portuguese verb has two different meanings. Most of the time, it means 🧠 to know, but did you know in certain contexts it can also mean 👅 to taste? Saber is conjugated in the 3rd person singular in both sentences, so it’s written exactly the same, but with an entirely different meaning. In the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-saber/feed/ 5 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saber-vs-conhecer/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saber-vs-conhecer/#respond Sun, 30 Jul 2023 08:00:14 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=227705 The verbs and cause a lot of confusion for Portuguese learners. If you translate them into English, both mean to know, but in Portuguese you also have to pay attention to the context in order to know 😉 which one to use. Saber: Talking About Information You Know We use saber to talk about facts […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saber-vs-conhecer/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/a-few-more-common-irregular-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/a-few-more-common-irregular-verbs/#comments Tue, 18 Jul 2023 07:00:10 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=712953 If you remember the Common Irregular Verbs unit, this is part 2! As you may remember, Portuguese verbs can be irregular in the root, the ending, or both, and they are often irregular only in certain tenses. Here’s an overview of most of the verbs we’ll cover in the following Lessons. For now, we’re continuing […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/a-few-more-common-irregular-verbs/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-things/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-things/#comments Tue, 11 Jul 2023 16:55:44 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=712100 Time for a Portuguese vocabulary boost! This Unit will focus on objects/things from many different categories. Most of these words will be new, but some you may have already picked up. To test yourself, cover up the right side and see how many of these objects you can name. You’ll hear how to pronounce each […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-things/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/english-expressions-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/english-expressions-in-portuguese/#respond Wed, 28 Jun 2023 08:00:35 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=455390 One challenge of learning Portuguese, or any language, is that you can’t simply translate literally. Each language has its own conventions for how to word different concepts. This is known as idiomatic language. In this Learning Note, we’re focusing mostly on how to translate English “phrasal verbs” into Portuguese. (If you’re looking for other types […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/english-expressions-in-portuguese/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/times-of-day-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/times-of-day-in-portuguese/#comments Tue, 20 Jun 2023 19:00:38 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=699965 Let’s go over the times of day in Portuguese! These are the from sunrise to sunset: – from until 6am/dawn (around ) – from about 6am until – from noon until about 6pm (or around when it gets dark) – from about 6pm to midnight Don’t pay too much attention to the exact time, though. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/times-of-day-in-portuguese/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/forming-portuguese-numbers-in-the-tens-hundreds-and-thousands/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/forming-portuguese-numbers-in-the-tens-hundreds-and-thousands/#comments Fri, 19 May 2023 14:17:38 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=653759 In the Numbers 1 unit, we gave you an overview of many different types of numbers, and we practiced with just 0-19. Now it’s time to pick up where we left off, so we can start using higher numbers. The lessons in this unit will focus on Portuguese numbers in the tens, hundreds, and thousands. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/forming-portuguese-numbers-in-the-tens-hundreds-and-thousands/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/spelling-variations-in-regular-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/spelling-variations-in-regular-verbs/#respond Mon, 15 May 2023 19:42:45 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=202083 After learning the rules for conjugating verbs, you may have noticed that certain Portuguese verbs are not spelled the way you would expect… If a verb is spelled and spoken completely differently, this is because it’s an irregular verb. But if it’s still spoken as expected, it probably just means it’s a regular verb with […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/spelling-variations-in-regular-verbs/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/family-members-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/family-members-in-portuguese/#comments Fri, 12 May 2023 18:00:29 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=653735 In this Learning Note, we’ll present a lot of Portuguese vocabulary related to different family members and loved ones. Then you can practice using these new words in the Lessons that follow. You may wish to add some of these words to your Smart Review, depending on which members of you like to talk about […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/family-members-in-portuguese/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/choosing-between-portuguese-prepositions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/choosing-between-portuguese-prepositions/#comments Fri, 12 May 2023 17:42:40 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=222738 When you start learning about Portuguese prepositions, you’ll quickly realize that the translation is very dependent on context. This makes it tricky for non-native speakers to determine which preposition to use. In this Learning Note, we’ll review some commonly confused prepositions to help clarify these distinctions. Place: When to Use “A” vs “Em” The preposition […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/choosing-between-portuguese-prepositions/feed/ 2 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portugals-love-affair-with-bacalhau/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portugals-love-affair-with-bacalhau/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 15:38:59 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=379722 In addition to being one of the most difficult Portuguese words for foreigners to pronounce correctly, is Portugal’s most treasured dish and it is highly associated with its national identity. There are supposedly over 1000 recipes involving bacalhau! 🤯  It can be boiled, barbecued, baked, fried… the list goes on. In fact, the Portuguese eat […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portugals-love-affair-with-bacalhau/feed/ 4 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/travel-to-madeira-tips-and-vocabulary/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/travel-to-madeira-tips-and-vocabulary/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2023 08:00:21 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=245183 ~ Written by Edyta of the blog Say Yes to Madeira. Explore her blog for a complete guide to what Madeira has to offer! When visiting the Madeira archipelago, you will have a chance to learn some interesting vocabulary. Here are some useful words you will often encounter, plus a pronunciation guide to the island’s […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/travel-to-madeira-tips-and-vocabulary/feed/ 5 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-galo-de-barcelos/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-galo-de-barcelos/#respond Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:35:19 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=379716 can be seen pretty much all over Portugal, especially in those cute little souvenir shops. Usually the galo comes in ceramic form, but you will also see it embroidered on towels and aprons, in woodwork, and even on key-chains! The most common version of the Galo de Barcelos is black with colourful dots and red […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-galo-de-barcelos/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/writing-an-email-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/writing-an-email-in-portuguese/#comments Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:55:32 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=379476 Ever wondered how to start and end an email in Portuguese? It’s not always as simple as translating the phrases you would use in your native language. What sounds friendly or formal in one language might sound rude or unusual in another. And you don’t want to greet a friend the same way you greet […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/writing-an-email-in-portuguese/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/basic-portuguese-grammar/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/basic-portuguese-grammar/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2022 11:00:54 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=212775 This Learning Note was designed to serve as a very condensed overview of basic Portuguese grammar. We hope this will help give you a “big picture” view of the language before you dive into the details. You’ll notice there are many links throughout, in case you want to explore a particular topic, or bookmark it […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/basic-portuguese-grammar/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-clothing-vocabulary/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-clothing-vocabulary/#comments Tue, 31 May 2022 20:35:11 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=456761 Whether you’re going shopping for new clothes or you just want to talk about what you’re wearing, it’s helpful to know some vocabulary for basic clothing items in Portuguese. Get Dressed! First, let’s cover which verbs we can use to talk about getting dressed. Usar can be confusing because it also means to use, but […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-clothing-vocabulary/feed/ 13 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/auxiliary-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/auxiliary-verbs/#comments Tue, 05 Apr 2022 17:51:30 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=232969 Let’s talk about an important topic: Portuguese auxiliary verbs! In a verb phrase (locução verbal), an auxiliary verb comes before the main verb. Essentially, its job is to “help” the main verb. Most Common Portuguese Auxiliary Verbs Here are a few of the most common , which you will probably recognize: Here are just a […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/auxiliary-verbs/feed/ 23 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-many-meanings-of-pois/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-many-meanings-of-pois/#respond Wed, 10 Nov 2021 21:21:31 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=219847 You’ll probably come across the word pois a lot when learning European Portuguese. It can be confusing for non-native speakers because it’s used in many different contexts and can have a wide variety of translations. Once you get the hang of it, pois is a very versatile word. It appears as a conjunction, an adverb, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-many-meanings-of-pois/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-gerund/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-gerund/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2021 17:58:06 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=373374 It’s time to learn how to use the gerund in European Portuguese! 🥳 Simples vs. Composto So what is the exactly? For English speakers, it generally corresponds to the verb form ending in -ing, when it is used as a noun (e.g. “I like cooking“). However, the Portuguese gerund plays a different role, which is […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-gerund/feed/ 11 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-variations/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-variations/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2021 15:58:34 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=225472 After exploring the Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Vowels and Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Consonants, you probably had a better sense of how to pronounce the various sounds of Portuguese in isolation. However, when you listened for these sounds throughout the Units and in the Shorties, you may have heard some things you didn’t expect! […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-variations/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/logo-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/logo-in-portuguese/#respond Thu, 21 Oct 2021 16:28:03 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=230653 You may have come across the word logo in Portuguese and had trouble translating it. Logo is another of those Portuguese words that has several meanings… The word can mean “therefore”, it can mean “soon”, and (don’t hate us!) it can also mean “later”. 😳 Sometimes it does not have a clear translation in English, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/logo-in-portuguese/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-determiners-cujo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-determiners-cujo/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2021 18:23:51 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=234183 Let’s talk about relative determiners! There is only one relative determiner – cujo (and its variants). This is a relatively recent change to the terminology, so you may find a lot of articles that list cujo as either a relative pronoun or a quantifier, but this is incorrect. Relative determiners always agree in number and […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-determiners-cujo/feed/ 13 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-pronounce-r-in-european-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-pronounce-r-in-european-portuguese/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2021 08:00:09 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=244721 The Portuguese R is one of the more difficult sounds to master. We covered it briefly in our Pronunciation Guide to European Portuguese Consonants, but it deserves a bit more explanation! Pronunciation varies across different Portuguese dialects, so you will likely hear variations in the the R (as well as other sounds). We’ll focus on […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-pronounce-r-in-european-portuguese/feed/ 18 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-say-large-numbers-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-say-large-numbers-in-portuguese/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2021 08:00:25 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=250729 In the next couple lessons, we’ll let you practice with large numbers, such as those in the ten-thousands and hundred-thousands. A few reminders: – Remember that 100 is cento when it’s part of a number (i.e. followed by e) – Remember that 100 is just cem when it’s by itself (i.e. not followed by e) Here’s […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-say-large-numbers-in-portuguese/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-use-the-verb-andar/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-use-the-verb-andar/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2021 19:14:19 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=229967 The simplest translation for the Portuguese verb andar is “to walk”, but the fun doesn’t stop there! Andar can take on many different meanings, depending on the context. As opposed to , which is pretty straightforward, refers more to the general act of moving, acting, or changing places. It can indicate that an action is […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-use-the-verb-andar/feed/ 25 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-english-cognates/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-english-cognates/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2021 10:42:45 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=210620 Learning Portuguese-English cognates is a great way to build vocabulary fast! It’s basically using what you already know to get a jump-start. Cognates are simply words that are very similar in both languages, usually due to a common root. We talked about them in our guide to European Portuguese Shortcuts, as well as our video […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-english-cognates/feed/ 19 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/false-cognates/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/false-cognates/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2021 21:11:18 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=210801 False cognates, also known as , are words that look and/or sound similar in two different languages, but that don’t actually have the same meaning. In other words (no pun intended), they “trick” you into thinking they are true cognates. Let’s start with what’s most important: making sure you don’t run into any doors when […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/false-cognates/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/having-a-basic-conversation-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/having-a-basic-conversation-in-portuguese/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2021 00:37:08 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=353932 In the next set of , we’ll introduce phrases that will help you have a basic conversation in Portuguese. Many beginners are afraid to initiate a because they don’t know whether they’ll understand or be understood. Well, we wouldn’t recommend discussing politics right away 😳, but with some preparation, you can at least get further […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/having-a-basic-conversation-in-portuguese/feed/ 61 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/poder-vs-conseguir/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/poder-vs-conseguir/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2021 17:30:29 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=227176 Some Portuguese verbs have such similar meanings that it can be quite confusing for learners to know which to use in different contexts. Two of these tricky verbs are and . In this Learning Note, we’ll cover how to distinguish between poder vs. conseguir. If you’re not familiar with these verbs, you can explore the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/poder-vs-conseguir/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/where-are-you-from/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/where-are-you-from/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2021 17:29:53 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=239135 In this Learning Note we’ll cover 3 main topics: 🗺 Countries in Portuguese (so you can say where you’re from!) 🤓 Whether to use a definite article (o or a) before the name of your country 🗣 How to state which language(s) you speak and your nationality (both male and female forms) You may have […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/where-are-you-from/feed/ 67 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-practice-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-practice-portuguese/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2021 19:18:26 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=283926 Before you jump right in, we wanted to give you an overview of how to use our platform to learn 🇵🇹 ! You can use the menu to navigate. The 2 most important sections are Learn and Practice: Next, we’ll discuss each section in more detail. If you’re too excited for all this explanation, scroll […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-practice-portuguese/feed/ 207 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/word-order-in-portuguese-questions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/word-order-in-portuguese-questions/#comments Fri, 28 May 2021 21:04:46 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=280195 Word order is fairly flexible when it comes to Portuguese questions, so let’s review the possibilities. Then we’ll introduce one more option that you haven’t seen yet. Yes/No Questions Word Order 1. Add a question mark to the end of a statement 2. Add a phrase like “não é?” to the end of a statement […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/word-order-in-portuguese-questions/feed/ 14 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/easter-in-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/easter-in-portugal/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2021 08:00:03 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=261926 Have you ever wondered what it’s like to celebrate Easter in Portugal? Portugal is a country with deep Catholic roots, so is a big celebration here. In fact, it’s probably the second biggest holiday after Christmas. Páscoa marks the remembrance of the death and rebirth of . A Time for Family Easter in Portugal is […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/easter-in-portugal/feed/ 1 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-of-the-letter-x-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-of-the-letter-x-in-portuguese/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:59:27 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=256964 How Do You Pronounce the Letter X in Portuguese? The letter X is one of the most challenging sounds in Portuguese because the pronunciation rules are quite variable. Let’s hear what Sherlock has to say on the topic:  To review, let’s look at the 5 groups of possible pronunciations: 1. “sheesh” Whenever the letter […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-of-the-letter-x-in-portuguese/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/diminutives-in-european-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/diminutives-in-european-portuguese/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2021 19:41:17 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=216054 Today we’re going to look at diminutives. But what exactly are they? are usually used to describe an object or a person as small or cute. They can also be used to express affection or pity towards someone/ something. Depending on the tone, they can also be used sarcastically. We often use diminutives when we […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/diminutives-in-european-portuguese/feed/ 14 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/augmentatives-in-european-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/augmentatives-in-european-portuguese/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2021 20:06:58 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=216056 We learned a bit about diminutives earlier, so now it’s time to look at their opposites: augmentatives. Augmentatives in Portuguese are usually used to add emphasis when describing a person or object as strong, large, or ugly. Sometimes they can be quite pejorative (and funny)! In the Diminutives’ Learning Note we mentioned that the augmentative […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/augmentatives-in-european-portuguese/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-pronouns/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2021 19:30:29 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=199692 This unit will cover relative pronouns in Portuguese. Relative pronouns are used to connect a dependent clause to the main clause of a sentence. A dependent clause refers to someone or something mentioned previously. The relative pronoun establishes a relationship with an antecedent and it’s that relation that allows us to understand who or what […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-pronouns/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/algarvian-dialect/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/algarvian-dialect/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2021 14:07:58 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=233876 In this article by Lena Strang, originally published in Tomorrow Magazine, she shares an inside look at the Algarvian dialect and how it complements the lively culture of the Algarve region of Portugal. Throughout the article, you can listen to examples of how Portuguese is spoken in the Algarve. Then, to explore the character and […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/algarvian-dialect/feed/ 1 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/being-a-vegetarian-in-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/being-a-vegetarian-in-portugal/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:25:03 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=203134 What’s it Like to be a Vegetarian in Portugal? In a country of meat and fish-lovers, many wonder if it’s easy to be a vegetarian (or a vegan) in Portugal. As you may have realized, much of traditional Portuguese cuisine is very meat-centric. Many of these dishes are tied to the history and traditions of […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/being-a-vegetarian-in-portugal/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduce-yourself-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduce-yourself-in-portuguese/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2020 13:54:55 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=239104 You learned how to say hello and goodbye in the Greetings unit, along with a few polite phrases, but what about after that initial greeting? You probably want to have a little more conversation when you meet someone new! In this Learning Note, we’ll cover the basics of how to introduce yourself in Portuguese. How […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduce-yourself-in-portuguese/feed/ 55 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/75-most-common-portuguese-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/75-most-common-portuguese-verbs/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2020 19:09:30 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=234870 With so much to learn about the European Portuguese language, it helps to consider what you’ll actually use most frequently. Let’s start off with the top 10 most common Portuguese verbs! To see the list of all 75 common verbs, click here. These were selected based on analysis of online texts specific to Portugal (i.e. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/75-most-common-portuguese-verbs/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/colours-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/colours-in-portuguese/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2020 20:08:30 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=231738 Let’s explore some useful vocabulary: colours in Portuguese! Even if you’re not an artist, it helps to know . How else will you talk about all the beautiful tiles and buildings around you in Portugal? Plus, next time you’re shopping, you’ll have an easier time asking for what you need. You can even use colours […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/colours-in-portuguese/feed/ 25 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-use-the-verb-ficar/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-use-the-verb-ficar/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2020 18:31:07 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=196178 The verb is a very common, and important, Portuguese verb. Ficar is sort of like a Swiss army knife, as it can take on many meanings… but you also have to be careful with it! In most cases, this verb means to be, to stay, to become, or to keep. It implies that something happened or will […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-use-the-verb-ficar/feed/ 47 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ordering-a-beer-in-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ordering-a-beer-in-portugal/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:22:00 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=218007 Wine is clearly the most popular beverage in Portugal, but let’s not forget about !Ordering a draft beer in Portugal will typically cost you about 1€ – 3€ (or even less if you go with a bottle)! In mainland Portugal, the most common types are light, lager-style beers from 2 companies: Super Bock (made in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ordering-a-beer-in-portugal/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-cheese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-cheese/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2020 21:41:38 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=231074 Portuguese cheese is a frequently found on the table, both at homes and in the restaurants of Portugal. Slices of regional cheese and ham are often served together with bread, olives and pates as starters. Although today there is a huge variety of cheeses and most are made on an industrial scale, traditional cheeses are […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-cheese/feed/ 4 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/christmas-in-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/christmas-in-portugal/#respond Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:37:59 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=224411 It’s almost that time of the year again! Whether you’re experiencing Christmas in Portugal firsthand or celebrating from afar, we want to share a number of our favourite resources to help you learn and communicate about the holiday season. Christmas Vocabulary and Phrases To start off, Practice Portuguese members can complete an entire unit about […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/christmas-in-portugal/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-talk-about-likes-and-dislikes-in-portuguese-2/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-talk-about-likes-and-dislikes-in-portuguese-2/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2020 13:20:19 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=220206 I like… The most important verb to learn when talking about likes and dislikes in Portuguese is . Let’s start with a simple example: It’s important to remember that the preposition goes along with the verb gostar. Adding de may seem strange at first to English speakers because we don’t use a preposition in this context. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-talk-about-likes-and-dislikes-in-portuguese-2/feed/ 42 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/kissing-etiquette-in-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/kissing-etiquette-in-portugal/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2020 15:10:07 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=blog&p=222295 To Kiss or Not to Kiss? There’s more to Portuguese greetings than just what you say, so let’s talk about the cultural aspect as well, plus some other phrases that may come up during introductions. There is quite a bit of variability in appropriate greetings within different contexts, so you can’t rely on any strict […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/kissing-etiquette-in-portugal/feed/ 57 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/guide-to-portuguese-fish/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/guide-to-portuguese-fish/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2020 01:58:25 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=176047 With almost 1000 km of coast (not even counting the islands) and at 200 km wide, it’s only natural that Portuguese cuisine contains an abundance of fish dishes. We are, after all, the country that eats the most fish per capita in Europe! The most emblematic Portuguese fish is , which has been part of […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/guide-to-portuguese-fish/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/falar-dizer-and-contar/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/falar-dizer-and-contar/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2020 21:52:21 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=216003 This guide will focus on the differences between the Portuguese verbs falar, dizer, and contar. The meanings of these words are actually very similar because they all relate to speaking or communicating information. In fact, they’re often considered synonyms and can be used interchangeably in certain contexts. However, it’s important to understand the differences as you […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/falar-dizer-and-contar/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-contractions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-contractions/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2020 14:12:37 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=204091 are simply the result of merging two words into one. In English, this includes words like I’m (I + am), you’re (you + are), we’ll (we + will), etc. With Portuguese contractions, however, it typically happens when certain prepositions are combined with certain other types of words. Which Words Form Contractions in Portuguese? When these […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-contractions/feed/ 9 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/verb-phrases-clitic-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/verb-phrases-clitic-pronouns/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2020 20:22:46 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=202183 In our unit on clitic object pronouns in Portuguese, we discussed where to place clitics within a sentence. More specifically, we talked about whether the clitic goes before the verb, after the verb, or in the middle of the verb. When auxiliary verbs get involved, there are now 2 verbs, so the rules change a […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/verb-phrases-clitic-pronouns/feed/ 18 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-consonants/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-consonants/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2020 13:08:58 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=188771  Portuguese and English share a common alphabet, for the most part, and many of the sounds associated with each consonant are quite similar. If you’re a native English speaker, the pronunciations to pay special attention to are those associated with the vowels, which we will cover in a separate learning note, as well as […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-consonants/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-vowels/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-vowels/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2020 12:58:09 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=171282 It’s time to take a deep dive into the pronunciation of vowels in European Portuguese! First we’ll invite you to play around with this interactive guide and then we’ll cover all the factors that go into creating the variety of subtle variations between each vowel sound. Pronunciation of Vowels in European Portuguese Explore the guide […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-vowels/feed/ 53 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/european-vs-brazilian-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/european-vs-brazilian-portuguese/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:13:17 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=163609 What’s the difference between European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese? For starters, European Portuguese is the variant spoken in Portugal and is more similar to the dialects spoken in Africa and Asia. (It is sometimes called Continental Portuguese, or even Portuguese Portuguese! 😄  ) Given the size and population of Brazil, however, the Brazilian Portuguese set […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/european-vs-brazilian-portuguese/feed/ 15 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-european-portuguese-alphabet/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-european-portuguese-alphabet/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2020 23:23:14 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=77615 This Learning Note will teach you how to spell using the letters of the European Portuguese alphabet, which will likely come in handy if you ever travel or move to Portugal. Receiving packages, making phone calls, and setting up services often require you to spell your name or other personal information, such as the name […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-european-portuguese-alphabet/feed/ 27 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/future-subjunctive/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/future-subjunctive/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2020 18:59:09 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=182229 As previously mentioned, the allows us to talk about the conditions that must be met in order for a potential future action to occur, (i.e. “If this goes well, I will do that” or “When we get home, I will do that”). This tense appears in subordinate adverbial clauses (i.e. clauses which function like an […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/future-subjunctive/feed/ 21 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/imperfect-subjunctive/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/imperfect-subjunctive/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:48:23 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=182227 Another tense that makes up part of the conjuntivo is the . You learned about the pretérito imperfeito do indicativo, which references past events that were ongoing. In the conjuntivo, however, the imperfect refers to: past or future wishes and desires; something purely hypothetical in the past or future: i.e. imagining “what could have been” […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/imperfect-subjunctive/feed/ 17 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/present-subjunctive/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/present-subjunctive/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:00:29 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=177753 Presente do Conjuntivo As one of the tenses that makes up part of the conjuntivo (subjunctive) mood, the lets you talk about something that may or may not happen, but that is within the realm of possibility. This includes hopes, fears, doubts, and other hypotheticals. It tends to be paired with the presente do indicativo, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/present-subjunctive/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-subjunctive-mood-in-portuguese-conjuntivo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-subjunctive-mood-in-portuguese-conjuntivo/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:00:06 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=183501 Conjuntivo: What is it? What in English is called the subjunctive mood, in European Portuguese is named . While the mood refers to actions that are certain or real, the conjuntivo, in contrast, indicates something possible, desired, hypothetical, or even unreal. It conveys the idea of uncertainty, doubt, or hope. It is often found in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-subjunctive-mood-in-portuguese-conjuntivo/feed/ 25 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/common-herbs-spices-in-portuguese-cuisine/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/common-herbs-spices-in-portuguese-cuisine/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2020 19:50:17 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=176045 Before we go any further, it’s best to explain the difference between and . Simply put, herbs are leaves while spices are seeds, bark, roots, and flowers. If you love food like we do, or want to understand the menu at a Portuguese restaurant, we think you’ll enjoy this guide to vocabulary for herbs and […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/common-herbs-spices-in-portuguese-cuisine/feed/ 23 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-prepositions-in-portuguese-questions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-prepositions-in-portuguese-questions/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2020 16:57:02 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=181425 We’ll cover prepositions in more detail in later units, but for now, let’s go over a few prepositional phrases that come up frequently within Portuguese questions. You’ll notice that the preposition always comes right before the question word: Para Por De Com Até A Few Others]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-prepositions-in-portuguese-questions/feed/ 46 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-e-que-in-european-portuguese-questions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-e-que-in-european-portuguese-questions/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2020 16:38:09 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=181427 You may have come across é que in a variety of Portuguese questions and wondered why these extra words are added. The pair of words is technically optional (the meaning stays the same with or without it), but including é que in Portuguese questions is so common that you should typically default to including it. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-e-que-in-european-portuguese-questions/feed/ 44 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/asking-questions-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/asking-questions-in-portuguese/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2020 20:11:22 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=181428 Yes/No Questions in Portuguese There are a number of different ways to form questions in Portuguese. We’ll start with those for which the answers are either affirmative or negative. These are the easiest Portuguese questions to ask because very few changes have to be made to turn a statement into a question. 1. Add a […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/asking-questions-in-portuguese/feed/ 48 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saying-no/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saying-no/#comments Tue, 19 May 2020 14:00:15 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=173847 The Basics: No & Not This is how to say no in Portuguese: The simplest way to make a sentence negative in Portuguese is just to place the word before the verb. This is the Portuguese equivalent of adding “no” or “not” to a sentence in English. Examples: Não is also used at the beginning […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saying-no/feed/ 21 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/learn-portuguese-by-cooking/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/learn-portuguese-by-cooking/#comments Sun, 17 May 2020 14:07:15 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=171097 How about a lesson that ends in a tasty reward? For all you omnivores out there, let’s explore some vocabulary in context for different types of meat, vegetables, and other ingredients with these family contributed by one of our team members and his mother. Thanks Eduardo and Fernanda! 🙌 Learn the vocabulary in the ingredients […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/learn-portuguese-by-cooking/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/reflexivity-with-tonic-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/reflexivity-with-tonic-pronouns/#comments Tue, 05 May 2020 15:43:30 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=105302 Reflexive pronouns tell you that an action is done to oneself (i.e. the object is the same as the subject). In English, we use words like myself, herself, and ourselves to express this idea. If you want to read more about Portuguese reflexive pronouns, we also cover them here. In order to make it easier […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/reflexivity-with-tonic-pronouns/feed/ 21 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-pronouns-si-consigo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-pronouns-si-consigo/#comments Tue, 05 May 2020 15:43:11 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=120323 Grammatically speaking, the pronouns si and consigo belong to the 3rd person subjects: ele(s)/ela(s). This is because they were initially only used as reflexive pronouns*, which are pronouns that refer to the same subject or thing as the verb. For example: The sentence above is still correct and wouldn’t be confusing because the context makes […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-pronouns-si-consigo/feed/ 20 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-tonic-pronouns-with-prepositions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-tonic-pronouns-with-prepositions/#comments Tue, 05 May 2020 15:42:42 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=105301 In this Learning Note, we’ll explore each tonic pronoun and see some examples of how it is used along with different prepositions. As you will see, certain prepositions change the form of the pronoun, especially . Summary Before we explain each pronoun in detail, here’s a quick overview. This chart shows each individual tonic pronoun […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/using-tonic-pronouns-with-prepositions/feed/ 13 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-tonic-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-tonic-pronouns/#comments Tue, 05 May 2020 15:41:30 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=105281 Personal pronouns can be classified according to how they are used within a sentence. There are clitic pronouns (), which are unstressed, and tonic pronouns (), which are stressed. This learning note will serve as an introduction to tonic pronouns in Portuguese, however, let’s first see an overview of all the personal pronouns in order […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-tonic-pronouns/feed/ 15 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/past-participles-auxiliary-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/past-participles-auxiliary-verbs/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2020 00:12:21 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=69716 In this lesson we’re going to tackle past participles in Portuguese, i.e. So what is a past participle? A past participle is a verb form that can… function as an adjective – combine with the past tense of ser to use passive voice – combine with other auxiliary verbs (such as ter) to form different […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/past-participles-auxiliary-verbs/feed/ 4 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/double-past-participles/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/double-past-participles/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2020 19:52:31 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=70030 In this lesson, we’ll have a look at . ‘Double’ here means that some verbs can take the form of either a regular or an irregular participle, depending on the auxiliary verb being used with them. Remember those verbs we marked off with an asterisk in the Irregular Participles learning note? They were , , […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/double-past-participles/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-past-participles/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-past-participles/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2020 19:52:02 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=69828 In this lesson, we’ll have a look at in Portuguese, i.e. past participles which behave in a unique and unpredictable way, instead of following the typical rules. Let’s see an example: If you are fresh off the previous lesson, perhaps you expected the past participle of  to follow the rule for -IR verbs, and be […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-past-participles/feed/ 11 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-past-participles/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-past-participles/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2020 19:47:49 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=69714 In Portuguese, there are three types of past participles: , , and In this lesson, we’ll have a look at regular past participles, that is to say, past participles which behave in a predictable way. These participles depend on the verb’s ending, i.e. they have a specific ending depending on whether they’re the past participle […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-past-participles/feed/ 21 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/idiomatic-expressions-2/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/idiomatic-expressions-2/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2020 18:45:17 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=71200 In this Learning Note we’re going to show you a few more Portuguese idioms. This expression literally means “you’re a head of spoiled garlic”, which means you are not very bright. Although originally meant for people who are easily distracted or forgetful, it has a become an endearing way of calling someone dumb. In the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/idiomatic-expressions-2/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-in-the-simple-past/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-in-the-simple-past/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2020 18:07:58 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=99146 You’ve learned about irregular verbs and how to conjugate some of them in the present tense. If they’re irregular in the present, they’re usually irregular in other tenses too. There are no consistent rules to follow for this category, so the only way to learn the different conjugations is to study each one and practice, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-in-the-simple-past/feed/ 17 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-pronounce-s-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-pronounce-s-in-portuguese/#comments Thu, 16 Jan 2020 20:25:53 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=92487 As is the case with most languages, the same letter can be associated with different phonemes — that is to say, the same letter can be pronounced in many different ways. You’ve probably noticed that Portuguese is no exception. In this guide, we’ll focus on S, Z, C, and Ç. We’ve grouped these together because […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/how-to-pronounce-s-in-portuguese/feed/ 22 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-gender-of-portuguese-words/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-gender-of-portuguese-words/#comments Sat, 11 Jan 2020 16:51:06 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=27092 Unlike English, most Portuguese words have a gender: ♂ masculine or ♀ feminine. Sometimes you’ll notice patterns, such as the -o ending in many masculine words and the -a ending in many feminine words. There are many, many exceptions, however, so you can’t always rely on that rule. You can start by using the patterns […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-gender-of-portuguese-words/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/minimal-pairs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/minimal-pairs/#comments Tue, 10 Dec 2019 16:46:56 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=77614 Have you heard of Minimal Pairs? A minimal word pair consists of two words that vary by only a single sound. For example, and – the only difference is in the final sound (the vowel sounds represented by a and o). Practicing with Portuguese minimal pairs is a great way to perfect your pronunciation and […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/minimal-pairs/feed/ 23 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-slang/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-slang/#comments Sun, 03 Nov 2019 14:48:02 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=65101 You have been learning to speak and write proper Portuguese, but not every Portuguese person speaks perfectly 100% of the time. Depending on the context, we might prefer using simpler terms to save time, explain something in a different way, joke around, or even fit in with a group. That’s where gíria popular – or just – […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-slang/feed/ 35 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/expressoes-idiomaticas-i/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/expressoes-idiomaticas-i/#comments Fri, 18 Oct 2019 09:46:05 +0000 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=68830 , or idioms, are expressions that you shouldn’t interpret literally. Portuguese idioms have a symbolic meaning, which is rarely maintained upon literal translation into other languages. These expressions reflect the customs and history of the country and are part of all conversations of the Portuguese, rich or poor, from North to South of Portugal. They […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/expressoes-idiomaticas-i/feed/ 24 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/interjections/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/interjections/#comments Wed, 16 Oct 2019 10:54:13 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=64092 Interjections are words with an emotive function. They are used to express emotions, sensations, and moods. They can be just simple vowel sounds, like and , but most are either a free word or a phrase, in which case we call them . The same can have different meanings depending on the context in which […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/interjections/feed/ 17 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-imperfeito-do-indicativo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-imperfeito-do-indicativo/#comments Mon, 02 Sep 2019 16:25:51 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=61988 In this Learning Note, we’ll discuss a verb tense called the pretérito imperfeito do indicativo. That’s a pretty long name, so for simplicity, let’s refer to it as the ! This tense is known by a number of different names in English: past continuous, past progressive, or imperfect past. The imperfeito refers to something that […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/preterito-imperfeito-do-indicativo/feed/ 49 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-future-with-haver/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-future-with-haver/#comments Wed, 21 Aug 2019 15:34:31 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=59322 The verb can also be used indicate that someone will do something at some point in the future. To use it like this, we conjugate the verb in the Present Indicative tense and add the preposition de. This is a rather formal way of describing a future action or intention. Haver can also be used […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-future-with-haver/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-past-with-haver/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-past-with-haver/#comments Wed, 21 Aug 2019 15:34:13 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=59117 The Portuguese often use the verb to discuss the past, whether it be minutes, hours, days, months, or years. In these contexts, haver is an impersonal verb, meaning that it doesn’t take a particular subject and is always used in the present tense form of the third-person conjugation: Normally há means there is or there are. However, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-past-with-haver/feed/ 32 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/haver-1-haver-as-to-exist-to-have/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/haver-1-haver-as-to-exist-to-have/#comments Wed, 21 Aug 2019 12:31:06 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=59112 The first and easiest of the many meanings of is to exist. That is to say, the verb indicates that something “is” or “exists” somewhere. In English, the verb there to be would typically be used in these contexts. When used in this sense, the verb haver is impersonal and has very few usable forms. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/haver-1-haver-as-to-exist-to-have/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-haver/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-haver/#comments Tue, 20 Aug 2019 10:04:44 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=58915 If you’ve been learning Portuguese for a while, and if you’ve done our unit on -ER Verbs, you may have noticed a glaring absence: the verb haver, one of the most essential Portuguese verbs. Haver may be common, but it’s an odd beast, as we shall see in the next two lessons. The verb haver […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-haver/feed/ 37 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/applying-for-a-portuguese-nif-number/ Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:42:48 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=57719 Portuguese bureaucracy can be very complicated, but applying for a NIF is at least a relatively gentle introduction. If you are going to live and/or work in Portugal, this number will chase you around, as you’ll need it for any kind of contract (opening a bank account, buying or renting a house, setting up utilities, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/impersonal-vs-personal-infinitive/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/impersonal-vs-personal-infinitive/#comments Fri, 16 Aug 2019 11:41:40 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=58913 This learning note will cover the personal infinitive in Portuguese and how it is distinguished from the impersonal infinitive. First let’s review what we mean by infinitive. The is one of the three verbs can have. These nominal forms do not express the verb tense, mode, and person by themselves, as they are dependent on […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/impersonal-vs-personal-infinitive/feed/ 36 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-when-to-use-estar/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-when-to-use-estar/#comments Wed, 24 Jul 2019 16:28:46 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=47171 We covered when to use ser earlier in this unit, but what about ? The verb estar is generally used for non-permanent (i.e. temporary) conditions, traits, or things, as opposed to which tends to be used for more permanent or lasting parameters. Let’s explore many of the common contexts in which you would use estar. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-when-to-use-estar/feed/ 43 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-when-to-use-ser/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-when-to-use-ser/#comments Wed, 24 Jul 2019 16:27:53 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=45933 We know, we know… No matter how essential they are, and are two difficult verbs. If the simplified distinction in the previous lesson wasn’t enough for you, you’re in luck. In this lesson, we’ll have a more detailed look at how and when to use ser, with plenty of examples to guide you. Later on […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-when-to-use-ser/feed/ 34 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-ir/ Wed, 24 Jul 2019 13:02:39 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=54414 Quick review of regular -IR verb endings Let’s start out with a regular -IR verb example, just to cleanse your palate 🍷: Irregular -IR Verbs And now, a very common and very irregular example: Here’s another irregular (and perhaps less scary) example: Lastly, let’s compare this verb with the regular -IR endings: Regular -IR Verb Endings Actual […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/buying-a-home-in-portugal/ Wed, 17 Jul 2019 14:38:13 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=55537 In recent years, more and more foreigners have been looking into buying a home in Portugal. Housing prices dropped significantly after an economic downturn, but as the economy recovers, property prices are beginning to rise again, especially in certain areas. Still, interest rates remain low and many are drawn to the climate, quality of life, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-er/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-er/#comments Tue, 09 Jul 2019 11:28:32 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-notes&p=54409 Quick review of regular -ER verb endings Let’s start out with a regular verb: The verb stem escrev- is combined with the regular -ER present tense endings (-o, –es, –e, –emos, –em). Irregular -ER Verbs For an irregular example, let’s have a look at , which you’ve likely seen by now. This verb is a […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/irregular-verbs-er/feed/ 15 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-ir-verbs-in-the-present-tense/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-ir-verbs-in-the-present-tense/#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2019 13:37:00 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=50124 As mentioned, verbs are split into three groups: -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs Now we’ll deal with the 3rd and final group: -IR verbs! IR Verb Endings The regular -IR verb conjugations are almost the same as the -ER verbs, except for one little difference… can you spot it? 🤔 Did you find it? […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-ir-verbs-in-the-present-tense/feed/ 48 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/masculine-vs-feminine-indefinite-articles-plurals/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/masculine-vs-feminine-indefinite-articles-plurals/#comments Wed, 08 May 2019 15:28:04 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=44189 How to Say A, An, & Some In Portuguese We just learned how to say “the car” using definite articles, but what if you want to talk about “a car” in general? This is called an , because we’re talking about an undefined car, rather than a specific instance of a car. In English, we […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/masculine-vs-feminine-indefinite-articles-plurals/feed/ 76 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/collective-numbers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/collective-numbers/#respond Wed, 08 May 2019 09:26:28 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=43929 Collective numbers are those that even in their singular form indicate a group of beings or things: Sometimes they indicate the exact number of things in the group, as in the example above. A quarteto is a musical group of 4 people. Other times, they are more general: In this example, dezenas technically means tens, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/collective-numbers/feed/ 0 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/fractional-numbers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/fractional-numbers/#comments Tue, 07 May 2019 17:01:14 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=42652 In this lesson, we’ll learn about , which define exact fractions, or parts, of a given thing. Let’s have a look: List of Portuguese Fractional Numbers Fractional numbers 1/2 – 1/10 Fractional numbers 1/11 – 1/19 Fractional numbers 1/20 – 1/1000 Fractionals, just like multipliers, are paired with the preposition (or its prepositional contraction). You […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/fractional-numbers/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/multiplier-numbers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/multiplier-numbers/#comments Tue, 07 May 2019 16:57:10 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=42649 Multipliers define multiples of a given thing or person. Let’s have a look at a few: Multiplier numbers are always preceded by the definite article o, and they’re paired with the preposition de (or its prepositional contractions). For multiples above four, instead of using a multiplier number, we usually use a cardinal number and the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/multiplier-numbers/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ordinal-numbers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ordinal-numbers/#comments Tue, 07 May 2019 16:45:41 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=43886 Ordinal numbers tell us the order people, animals, or things take in a specific series: They are variable, meaning they must match the subject in gender and number. For example: Chart of Ordinal Numbers in Portuguese Here are some of the most commonly used ordinal numbers. (You can find more here: Introduction to Numbers in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ordinal-numbers/feed/ 9 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/cardinal-numbers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/cardinal-numbers/#comments Tue, 07 May 2019 14:39:52 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=43809 What are cardinal numbers? Cardinal numbers are basically regular ol’ numbers. They simply indicate the number of people, animals, or things. They are invariable, except… The majority of cardinal numbers are invariable, meaning they only have one form. For example, you say três meninos (3 boys) and três meninas (3 girls). There is only one […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/cardinal-numbers/feed/ 16 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/numbers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/numbers/#comments Fri, 03 May 2019 15:57:15 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=43612 In this unit, we’ll learn about Portuguese numbers, known as or . Números are just one type of , but they are so important that we thought they deserved their own unit. We’ll explore some of the other quantifiers in the How Much? How Many? unit. But for now, let’s go over the números, which […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/numbers/feed/ 24 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/existential-quantifiers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/existential-quantifiers/#comments Thu, 02 May 2019 13:02:38 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=42003 In this lesson, we’ll learn about . Existential quantifiers provide information about quantity without specifying an exact quantity or amount. In English, we would use words like many, few, some, so much, another, several, and plenty. Let’s take a look at how to express these concepts in Portuguese. Muito, Muita, Muitos, Muitas Muito and muita are […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/existential-quantifiers/feed/ 34 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/universal-quantifiers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/universal-quantifiers/#comments Wed, 01 May 2019 14:51:44 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=42008 In this lesson, we’ll learn about . Universal quantifiers are quantifiers that apply to every element of a given group. In English, this would include words like all, none, any, both, and every. Let’s learn about each of the words used to express these concepts in Portuguese. Todo, Toda, Todos, Todas Todo and toda are the singular […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/universal-quantifiers/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/interrogative-quantifiers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/interrogative-quantifiers/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2019 15:11:17 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=43104 In this lesson, we’ll take a look at . Interrogative quantifiers introduce questions related to quantities. These types of questions are invariably answered using another quantifier. The interrogative quantifiers include: How much? When used to question a quantity, quanto and quanta are the singular form equivalents to “how much” in English. (In an upcoming lesson, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/interrogative-quantifiers/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-quantifiers/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-quantifiers/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2019 15:08:38 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=43100 In this lesson, we’ll learn about . Relative quantifiers don’t specify an exact quantity, but instead tell us about how a quantity compares in relation to an unspecified whole. As expected, the determiner used matches the gender and number of the item(s) it refers to. Quanto, Quanta, Quantos, Quantas Quanto and quanta are used in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/relative-quantifiers/feed/ 26 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-vs-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-vs-pronouns/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2019 17:17:13 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41738 To master Portuguese, it is essential that we tackle determiners. As you may recall, we have already learned about a few types of determiners in previous units, such as articles, possessives, and demonstratives. So this will be a good opportunity to review, as well as to be introduced to some new types. In this unit, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-vs-pronouns/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-demonstrative-determiners/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-demonstrative-determiners/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2019 23:54:14 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41954 In this lesson, we’ll review a topic we’ve covered before, which is Portuguese demonstratives – este, esta, esse, essa, aquele, and aquela – as well as their plural forms. In Portuguese, demonstrative determiners indicate where something is in relation to to the speaker and listener in terms of place or time, and must agree in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-demonstrative-determiners/feed/ 19 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-interrogative-determiners/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-interrogative-determiners/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2019 19:25:06 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=42228 In this lesson, we’ll learn about Interrogative determiners are words we use to formulate questions or exclamations, and they are followed by nouns. There are only two of them, but they are quite important! Que Que is equivalent to “what”. Example: There is no plural form of que. Qual / Quais Qual is the singular […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-interrogative-determiners/feed/ 16 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-indefinite-determiners/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-indefinite-determiners/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2019 19:14:56 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=42221 In this lesson, we’ll have a look at Indefinite determiners are words that express an undefined quality about the noun they’re referencing, similar to “other people”, “another beer”, or “certain things” in English. In Portuguese, indefinite determiners always agree in gender and number with the noun. Other & Another The singular forms of “other” or “another” […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-indefinite-determiners/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-nos-and-vos/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-nos-and-vos/#comments Sat, 30 Mar 2019 12:11:44 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41383 In this lesson we’ll explore two more clitic object pronouns in Portuguese, nos and vos. A quick reminder: With 1st person plural verbs that end in s, such as vamos, the s is dropped before adding the pronoun nos. For example: vamos + nos = vamo-nos, as in Nos Nos corresponds to us or to/for us, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-nos-and-vos/feed/ 13 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-reflexive-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-reflexive-pronouns/#comments Sat, 30 Mar 2019 12:01:57 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41392 Portuguese reflexive verbs are formed by adding the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, or nos. When the direct object or indirect object represents the same person or thing as the subject of the verb, it’s expressed by a reflexive pronoun. In other words, we use reflexive pronouns when the action is something one does to […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-reflexive-pronouns/feed/ 51 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-definite-and-indefinite-articles/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-definite-and-indefinite-articles/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2019 22:27:57 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41736 In this lesson, we’ll compare Portuguese definite articles and indefinite articles. are small words that precede and define a noun. In Portuguese, articles take on different forms to agree in gender and number with the noun they define. In English, we just have the definite article the and the indefinite articles a, an, and some. […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/determiners-definite-and-indefinite-articles/feed/ 20 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-me-te/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-me-te/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2019 11:44:33 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41357 In this lesson we’ll explore the first two clitic object pronouns in Portuguese, me and te. A few quick reminders: No hyphens are required if they’re proclitics (placed before the verb) 2 hyphens are required if they’re mesoclitic (placed between two parts of verb) 1 hyphen is required if they’re enclitics (placed after the verb) […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-me-te/feed/ 16 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/merging-clitic-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/merging-clitic-pronouns/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2019 14:59:56 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41385 In Portuguese, when we use a verb that asks for both a direct and indirect object (and the objects are known, i.e. we’re aware of what/who they are), we can create a contraction by combining the third person direct object pronoun with the indirect object pronoun. Sounds complicated, we know. Let’s see a practical example… […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/merging-clitic-pronouns/feed/ 18 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-third-person-singular-and-plural/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-third-person-singular-and-plural/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2019 14:57:35 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41359 In this lesson we’ll explore 3rd-person clitic object pronouns in Portuguese. We saved these for last because they are a little bit more complicated. Unlike the others we’ve practiced so far in the Clitic Pronouns unit, there are different forms depending on whether it’s a direct or indirect object pronoun. (Visit the introduction learning note […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-third-person-singular-and-plural/feed/ 31 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-direct-indirect-objects/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-direct-indirect-objects/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2019 14:54:52 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41270 are one of the trickiest subjects to learn and master in Portuguese. But don’t despair — we’re here to help! Throughout these lessons you’ll learn how to use clitic object pronouns correctly, but first you should understand more about the difference between direct and indirect objects. The objects of a sentence can be represented in various […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/clitic-pronouns-direct-indirect-objects/feed/ 30 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-clitic-object-pronouns/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-clitic-object-pronouns/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2019 12:07:43 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=41272 In this lesson, we’ll have a look at direct and indirect object pronouns in Portuguese. These fall into the category of , along with reflexive pronouns, which we will cover separately, but which follow many of the same rules. Keep in mind that we are focusing on how to use object pronouns in European Portuguese, as […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-clitic-object-pronouns/feed/ 60 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/measurements/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/measurements/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2019 09:48:21 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=40356 What do cooking, taking a trip, shopping for clothing, and building or furnishing a home have in common? They all involve different types of measurements. To prepare you to discuss sizes and measurements in Portuguese, we’ll cover some basic Portuguese vocabulary related to length, width, height, weight, distance, and so on. Here are a few […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/measurements/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-manner-bem-melhor-mal-pior-atraves/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-manner-bem-melhor-mal-pior-atraves/#comments Mon, 11 Mar 2019 16:08:20 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=40288 , sometimes called adverbs of mode, tell us how an action happened or the way in which it was carried out. Easy, right? Adverbs of manner can sometimes be mistaken for adjectives, but one thing that distinguishing an adverb of manner (or any adverb) is that they are always invariable. In other respects, Portuguese adverbs […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-manner-bem-melhor-mal-pior-atraves/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/degrees-of-adjectives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/degrees-of-adjectives/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2019 15:21:56 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12714 In Portuguese, adjectives change form depending on the gender and number of the noun. Similarly to English, they can also be expressed in different : Positive Degree This is the basic form of each adjective. We use it to qualify a noun without making any comparisons. Comparative Degree You use the comparative degree to… you […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/degrees-of-adjectives/feed/ 21 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/simple-prepositions-and-prepositional-phrases/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/simple-prepositions-and-prepositional-phrases/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2019 15:02:20 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=40068 So far, you’ve learned what prepositions are and you’ve been introduced to quite a few of them. Similar to English, there are dozens of prepositions in Portuguese grammar. There are simple prepositions (single words, some of which form contractions with pronouns and articles) and there are prepositional phrases. For example: Simple preposition (de): Prepositional phrase […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/simple-prepositions-and-prepositional-phrases/feed/ 29 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/bastante-quase-realmente/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/bastante-quase-realmente/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2019 15:24:49 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39158 In this learning note, we’ll explore 3 tricky Portuguese words that can take on very different meanings depending on their placement in a sentence or the type of word they modify: We’ve mentioned these words before, but let’s take a closer look to get more comfortable with their different uses. The Many Lives of Bastante […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/bastante-quase-realmente/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-the-adverb-ja/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-the-adverb-ja/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2019 17:55:37 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39135 One of the most common adverbs of time is , which at its core means in this moment. Like all other adverbs of time, já is always invariable. It is one of the most frequently used adverbs, and possibly one of the most confusing for non-native speakers! The meaning of já in Portuguese varies quite […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-the-adverb-ja/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-aqui-ca-ai-la-ali-acola/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-aqui-ca-ai-la-ali-acola/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2019 13:10:34 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39608 Portuguese has several to indicate the relative position of a person or object. These adverbs are particularly useful to learn:  . In short, cá and aqui both mean here. Aí, lá, ali, and acolá mean there. Below we’ll explore the finer differences between each of these words. Here and There In Portuguese, here and there are a […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-aqui-ca-ai-la-ali-acola/feed/ 35 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-3-debaixo-acima-abaixo/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-3-debaixo-acima-abaixo/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:54:04 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39605 No one’s above a little studying! In this lesson, we’ll be looking at some more Portuguese adverbs of place. Remember: Unlike other adverbs, adverbs of place only modify verbs. Acima is the equivalent of above, and as such it is rather straightforward. Abaixo means below (the opposite of acima). It refers to a thing or person that […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-3-debaixo-acima-abaixo/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-dentro-fora-atras-defronte-adiante/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-dentro-fora-atras-defronte-adiante/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:42:29 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39600 In this lesson, we’ll be looking at some more adverbs of place. Remember: Unlike other adverbs, adverbs of place only modify verbs. Dentro Fora Atrás Defronte is not a very common adverb nowadays. Instead, we usually use adverbial phrases like or to say that something is in front of something else. But you may still […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-dentro-fora-atras-defronte-adiante/feed/ 29 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-onde-longe-perto-adiante-antes-depois/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-onde-longe-perto-adiante-antes-depois/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:25:10 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39592 In this lesson, we’ll be looking at . These adverbs tell us where something happens or where something is, so they’re pretty essential for building up your Portuguese sentences. Placing Adverbs of Place Portuguese adverbs of place are quite versatile as they can be placed before or after the verb they’re modifying. Unlike other adverbs, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-place-onde-longe-perto-adiante-antes-depois/feed/ 38 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/a-portuguese-kitchen/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/a-portuguese-kitchen/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2019 13:18:29 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12748 Enjoying food is an important part of the culture of Portugal. Whether you’re buying groceries, ordering at a restaurant, or just talking about food, you’ll need to be comfortable with the basics of Portuguese cooking vocabulary. To start, let’s focus on some of the things you might find in a Portuguese kitchen. Food Storage There […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/a-portuguese-kitchen/feed/ 54 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/food-groups/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/food-groups/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2019 15:58:57 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12734 Exploring food groups is a convenient way to help us learn European Portuguese food vocabulary in a more organized way. Dairy Products First, let’s look at some : Leite, iogurte, and queijo are a part of many Portuguese people’s breakfasts and snacks. Queijo, in particular, is very important and there are several tasty varieties. As for […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/food-groups/feed/ 51 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-food/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-food/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2019 12:43:28 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12746 Portugal is a country of food lovers, so we use a lot of different expressions to describe the food we eat and how we feel about eating it. The 2 ways to say “I’m hungry” in Portuguese are: | Hunger and Satisfaction I’m Hungry! For starters, instead of saying I am hungry, in Portugal we […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-food/feed/ 41 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-preposition-com/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-preposition-com/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2019 12:17:17 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12768 One very common Portuguese preposition is Like all prepositions, it’s an invariable word placed before a noun (or pronoun) to indicate the noun’s relationship to other words. When to Use “Com” Just like the English use of “with”, the preposition com is used to… Indicate people or things that are together: Say what something has, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-preposition-com/feed/ 53 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-degree-1-nada-pouco-bastante-muito-e-demasiado/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-degree-1-nada-pouco-bastante-muito-e-demasiado/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2019 12:35:04 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39152 , also called , tell us about how intensely something occurs. For the most part, Portuguese adverbs of degree operate just like English adverbs in terms of their placement and usage. Word Order Portuguese adverbs of degree are usually placed before the word they’re modifying if it’s an adjective or adverb, and immediately after the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-degree-1-nada-pouco-bastante-muito-e-demasiado/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-affirmation-and-negation/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-affirmation-and-negation/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2019 18:30:58 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39124 Adverbs of and adverbs of are some of the most essential words in all of the Portuguese language (and, indeed, any language). They are always invariable, so there is no need to worry about different variations. Affirmation Adverbs of affirmation are, as the name implies, words which signify that a given statement is true, or […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-affirmation-and-negation/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-quase-ainda-enfim-agora-e-sempre/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-quase-ainda-enfim-agora-e-sempre/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2019 16:10:08 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39133 can tell us when, how often, or for how long an action happens. As with most other Portuguese adverbs, adverbs of time are always invariable. In this lesson we’ll start with some of the most frequent adverbs of time in Portuguese, which are: Quase We dealt with quase in the previous lesson, as an adverb […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-quase-ainda-enfim-agora-e-sempre/feed/ 20 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-degree-2-mais-menos-tao-tanto-e-quase/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-degree-2-mais-menos-tao-tanto-e-quase/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2019 15:58:08 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39155 Let’s look at some more adverbs of degree, which you’ll remember are always invariable. We’ll see examples of each of the following adverbs: Mais Mais simply means more, or plus. Menos On the flip side, menos is equivalent to the English less, or minus. Tão Tão is equivalent to so or so much in English […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-degree-2-mais-menos-tao-tanto-e-quase/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-cedo-tarde-antes-depois-ontem-hoje-e-amanha/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-cedo-tarde-antes-depois-ontem-hoje-e-amanha/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2019 17:28:12 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=39137 In this lesson, we’ll look at more examples of Remember: adverbs of time are always invariable, meaning they do not change form to match the gender or number of the word they reference. Cedo Tarde Antes Depois Ontem Hoje Amanhã]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/adverbs-of-time-cedo-tarde-antes-depois-ontem-hoje-e-amanha/feed/ 13 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-portuguese-adverbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-portuguese-adverbs/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:58:27 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=38308 To be more precise and descriptive in your Portuguese conversations, it’s important to master Portuguese . But what are they? Simply put, adverbs are words which modify other words – verbs, adjectives, and sometimes even other adverbs. They add to the meaning or clarify the manner in which a word applies to the rest of […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-portuguese-adverbs/feed/ 17 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/aonde-vs-onde/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/aonde-vs-onde/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2019 11:00:15 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=38564 Onde The adverb  indicates a location. Examples: Onde can be used to replace expressions such as: Aonde is a contraction between the adverb and the preposition  . It’s most commonly used with the verb when asking a question and implies the idea of going from one place to another. For example: An answer to this […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/aonde-vs-onde/feed/ 16 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/simple-compound-adjectives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/simple-compound-adjectives/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2019 12:47:35 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=21085 Adjectives are words that describe or qualify nouns. They can be if they’re just one word, or if formed by two or more elements, usually (but not always) connected by a hyphen (-). Simple Portuguese Adjectives Compound Portuguese Adjectives More compound adjectives: Gender and Number Agreement Although there are some that only have one gender […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/simple-compound-adjectives/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/polite-phrases/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/polite-phrases/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2019 15:39:46 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12762 Just like its people, the Portuguese language is very courteous. Below are just some of the many polite phrases used to express basic, everyday courtesy in Portuguese. A little kindness goes a long way, especially when you’re struggling to communicate in a new language! This guide covers the most important phrases, but there are also […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/polite-phrases/feed/ 77 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/forming-negative-phrases/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/forming-negative-phrases/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2019 14:40:40 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12766 There are a few different ways to say no, to make a sentence negative, or to refer to a quantity that is zero. Here are some of the important words to know: Not The simplest way to make a sentence negative in Portuguese is just to place the word before the verb. This is the […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/forming-negative-phrases/feed/ 26 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saying-goodbye-in-european-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saying-goodbye-in-european-portuguese/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2019 11:30:00 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12770 Let’s learn how to say goodbye in Portuguese! There are many options, depending on who you are talking to, the time of day, or how long it will be until you see them again. Take a look at the infographic below for a quick guide:   Here’s the audio for those phrases: These are some […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/saying-goodbye-in-european-portuguese/feed/ 38 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-conditional-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-conditional-in-portuguese/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2019 00:03:42 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=37154 If you had to say which mood is used in the bolded part of this sentence, what would be your guess? Well, you may have guessed just from reading the title that this is an example of the conditional mood, used to talk about hypothetical situations that are conditional or dependent on something else.  In […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-conditional-in-portuguese/feed/ 22 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-imperative/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-imperative/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:34:27 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=37124 When someone yells or a doctor says , there’s one thing they’re doing in common: using the mood! There are 2 types of imperatives in Portuguese: the affirmative and the negative, shown below respectively. In these examples, the speaker is talking to multiple people, i.e. using the vocês (you – plural) form. Regular Verbs in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-imperative/feed/ 26 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/plurals-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/plurals-in-portuguese/#comments Sat, 27 Oct 2018 18:59:22 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12738 A challenging part of learning Portuguese is realizing that many words need to be adjusted to agree with the gender and number of the people or objects we are talking about. To help us understand the rules for making words plural in Portuguese, first let’s see a quick overview of which types of words stay […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/plurals-in-portuguese/feed/ 61 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/dining-out-in-portugal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/dining-out-in-portugal/#comments Sat, 27 Oct 2018 18:13:59 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12732 Whether you’re just visiting or planning to live in Portugal, learning some food vocabulary is going to be pretty important! 😆  As part of our Cooking and Eating unit, this guide should give you a good introduction to dining out in Portugal, or, in other words: Breakfast & Coffee There are and , which are […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/dining-out-in-portugal/feed/ 31 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/essential-conjunctions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/essential-conjunctions/#comments Sat, 27 Oct 2018 09:47:46 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12760 There are 3 essential conjunctions that you’ll need when you want to start connecting your thoughts and forming more complex sentences in Portuguese: These 3 are called , because they combine multiple independent phrases into one. You’ll learn much more about conjunctions in later units, but for now, we’ll focus on these 3 essentials. 1) “E” […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/essential-conjunctions/feed/ 32 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/good-bad-vs-well-badly/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/good-bad-vs-well-badly/#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2018 14:20:09 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12754 What’s the difference between mau and mal? What about bom and bem? These pairs of Portuguese words are very similar in meaning, but they’re not interchangeable. It comes down to understanding the difference between adjectives and adverbs and how they are used in Portuguese. Adjectives Good and bad are adjectives, which modify nouns (people / places […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/good-bad-vs-well-badly/feed/ 43 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/present-continuous-in-portuguese/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/present-continuous-in-portuguese/#comments Fri, 01 Jun 2018 12:07:06 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12736 This Learning Note will cover the present continuous in Portuguese. When we talk about actions that are happening right at the time of speaking, we use the present continuous, also known as the present progressive. Let’s start by taking a look at how this works in English. Present continuous in the first person: I am […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/present-continuous-in-portuguese/feed/ 43 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-verbs-simple-past-er-ir-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-verbs-simple-past-er-ir-verbs/#comments Wed, 16 May 2018 14:17:56 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=26707 -ER Verbs in the Simple Past Regular verbs in the -ER group include and . Let’s see how they would be conjugated in the : Once you figure out the verb stems, which in this case are escrev- and corr-, you just add the correct ending (-i, -este, -eu, -emos, -eram). Notice that aside from […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-verbs-simple-past-er-ir-verbs/feed/ 18 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-verbs-simple-past-ar-verbs/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-verbs-simple-past-ar-verbs/#comments Wed, 16 May 2018 14:04:22 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=26701 The English simple past tense (e.g. “I went”, “We ate”, “You finished”) corresponds to the Portuguese . As with the present tense, conjugating regular Portuguese verbs in this tense is easier once you learn the patterns for each verb group. Examples of some regular verbs in the -AR group include , , and . Let’s […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-verbs-simple-past-ar-verbs/feed/ 40 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-future/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-future/#comments Tue, 15 May 2018 11:54:21 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=26680 Below we will discuss the three main methods to talk about the future in Portuguese: 1. Using Ir + Infinitive Similar to the English construction, to discuss the future, Portuguese uses the verb , followed by a verb in its infinitive form. First let’s see the present tense conjugation for the verb ir, since this […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-the-future/feed/ 38 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/verb-por-group-of-its-own/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/verb-por-group-of-its-own/#comments Tue, 01 May 2018 21:27:16 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=26434 The verb pôr is an unusual Portuguese verb. You may be surprised to learn that all verbs ending in -OR are actually part of the same group as verbs that end in –ER. 🤔 These “-por” verbs are considered part of the -ER group because of their Latin origins: pôr used to be written as […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/verb-por-group-of-its-own/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-quantity/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-quantity/#comments Tue, 01 May 2018 12:12:06 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12764 These are three of the simplest, most common words used to talk about quantity in Portuguese: Countable Nouns When talking about countable quantities (which usually end in “-s” in English as well as Portuguese), muito, pouco and algum all change according to gender and number: Uncountable Nouns With uncountable nouns (such as virtues, qualities, or time, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/talking-about-quantity/feed/ 30 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-er-verbs-in-the-present-tense/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-er-verbs-in-the-present-tense/#comments Tue, 01 May 2018 11:32:15 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12724 As mentioned, Portuguese verbs are split into three groups: -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs Now we’ll deal with the 2nd group: -ER verbs! Regular -ER Verb Endings Below are some examples of regular -ER verbs in the present tense. Notice the endings (-o, -es, -e, -emos, -em) which are added after each verb’s stem […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-er-verbs-in-the-present-tense/feed/ 62 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-ar-verbs-in-the-present-tense/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-ar-verbs-in-the-present-tense/#comments Tue, 01 May 2018 10:31:08 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12719 In Portuguese, verbs are split into three groups: -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs In this article, we’ll cover the first group: -AR Verbs! Common regular verbs ending in -AR include , and When the conjugation is regular, the endings of conjugated -AR verbs follow the same pattern. Below, we’ll use the Portuguese regular verb […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/regular-ar-verbs-in-the-present-tense/feed/ 84 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-portuguese-adjectives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-portuguese-adjectives/#comments Tue, 01 May 2018 09:50:09 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12758 are words that describe a noun, assigning it a quality, state, appearance, or other property. (Adverbs are also used to describe, but instead of nouns, they modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.) In Portuguese, using adjectives requires that you consider the gender and number of the word being modified, as well as the word order […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/introduction-to-portuguese-adjectives/feed/ 43 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/when-to-use-dele-dela-vs-seu-sua/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/when-to-use-dele-dela-vs-seu-sua/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2018 13:03:35 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12752 Dele vs seu? When forming 3rd person possessives in European Portuguese, how do we decide when to use dele, dela, deles, delas  vs.  seu, sua, seus, suas? Both ways are correct, so there’s no need to stress. It’s just a matter of whether you’re providing enough clarity / specificity. When in doubt: dele/dela/deles/delas is usually […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/when-to-use-dele-dela-vs-seu-sua/feed/ 26 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/3rd-person-possessives-de-pronoun/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/3rd-person-possessives-de-pronoun/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2018 12:45:57 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12750 The Ambiguity of Seu, Sua, Seus, and Suas To review, the Portuguese possessive pronouns/determiners for the third-person forms are the following: Subject Possessive Pronoun/Determiner English Equivalent Ele, Ela, Você His, Her/Hers, Your/Yours(formal) Eles, Elas Their, Theirs As you can see, ele, ela, você, eles, and elas all share the same exact possessive determiners! Since the determiners agree […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/3rd-person-possessives-de-pronoun/feed/ 20 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/possessive-pronouns-determiners-meu-teu-seu/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/possessive-pronouns-determiners-meu-teu-seu/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2018 10:32:15 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12740 Possessive Determiners vs. Possessive Pronouns In this unit, we’re going to learn about possessive determiners and possessive pronouns in European Portuguese, which both serve the function of expressing possession or ownership of something. In English, these are words like my, your, his, her, their, and our (possessive determiners) and mine, yours, his, hers, theirs, and […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/possessive-pronouns-determiners-meu-teu-seu/feed/ 43 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/1st-and-2nd-person-possessives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/1st-and-2nd-person-possessives/#comments Sat, 10 Mar 2018 17:06:30 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12742 Mine, Yours, and Ours Let’s take a closer look at this first group of possessives: meu, teu, nosso and vosso, plus their feminine and plural forms. Subject Possessive Pronoun/Determiner (for masculine nouns) Possessive Pronoun/Determiner (for feminine nouns) Eu Tu Nós Vós, Vocês Gender and Number Agreement Remember that the pronoun/determiner has to agree in gender […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/1st-and-2nd-person-possessives/feed/ 16 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-two-ways-of-being/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-two-ways-of-being/#comments Sat, 10 Mar 2018 16:24:08 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12772 Are you familiar with the verbs and ? Even with a lot of practice, they are still easy to mix up! Don’t worry: in this unit you’ll learn more about when to use one versus the other. A Basic Distinction: Ser vs Estar Ser is typically used to describe permanent states or conditions. It refers […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/ser-vs-estar-two-ways-of-being/feed/ 43 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/common-household-items/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/common-household-items/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2017 19:49:07 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12709 The average home is full of all kinds of objects, pieces of furniture, and appliances. In this unit, we’ll explore the most common objects you’ll find in each room of your house. The Living Room – Sala de Estar The room where you’ll likely spend lots of time relaxing with your family and friends is […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/common-household-items/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/types-of-homes-and-rooms/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/types-of-homes-and-rooms/#comments Tue, 11 Jul 2017 11:29:19 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12707 If you plan to or a home in Portugal, here are some of the main types of housing you have to choose from: Types of Housing – A private bedroom for yourself in a house shared with other people. – A complete, unshared home, but in shared with others. You could also categorize this as apartment which […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/types-of-homes-and-rooms/feed/ 9 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/3rd-person-possessives-seu-and-sua-2/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/3rd-person-possessives-seu-and-sua-2/#comments Sun, 18 Jun 2017 22:40:49 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12744 His, Hers, Yours, and Theirs There are just a few more Portuguese possessives to learn: Subject Possessive Pronoun/Determiner English Equivalent Ele, Ela, Você His, Her/Hers, Your/Yours (formal) Eles, Elas Their, Theirs See what happens there? The pronouns/determiners for the third-person singular (+ você) and the third-person plural are all the same! Gender and Number Agreement […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/3rd-person-possessives-seu-and-sua-2/feed/ 18 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-ser/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-ser/#comments Sun, 18 Jun 2017 21:25:09 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12717 is one of the most fundamental and important Portuguese verbs. It also happens to be an irregular verb, which helps explain why the conjugations below look quite different from the verb’s infinitive form. For now, we’ll focus on ser in the : As you can see, verb conjugations in Portuguese change depending on who is […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-verb-ser/feed/ 33 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-causal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-causal/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2017 14:36:12 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=19063 Causal subordinating conjunctions (conjunções subordinativas causais) introduce the reason or cause for what was said in the independent clause. Examples: In all of the examples above, the comma separates the two different parts of each sentence. The part containing the conjunction (dependent clause) can appear either before or after the other part (main clause), but sometimes […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-causal/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2017 14:17:59 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12712 As you may recall from the earlier Portuguese conjunctions unit, conjunctions are words that connect other words or phrases together. They help you link your thoughts together by showing different types of relationships between the parts of a sentence. You practiced with many different types of “coordinating” conjunctions, which serve different purposes, such as showing […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions/feed/ 7 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-final/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-final/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2017 14:17:34 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=19067 Final subordinating conjunctions (conjunções subordinativas finais) describe the purpose of the event or action. Indeed, porque can be both a causal and final conjunction. It all depends on if we’re talking about cause (why something happened) or purpose (reason for doing something). Examples: A fim de is a conjunction that you’re more likely to find in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-final/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-temporal/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-temporal/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2017 13:19:01 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?post_type=learning-note&p=19054 Temporal subordinating conjunctions (conjunções subordinativas temporais) tell us when the action or event described in the independent clause has occurred or is occurring. Examples: Note: In certain contexts, conjunctions like these set up conditions that must be met in order for a future action to occur. When this happens, the verb that follows will be in […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/subordinating-conjunctions-temporal/feed/ 10 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/formal-informal-treatment/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/formal-informal-treatment/#comments Wed, 31 May 2017 19:26:30 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/?p=12756 As part of our Tu e Você unit, this guide will cover how to address people formally vs. informally in Portugal, with a special focus on the difference between tu and você in European Portuguese. Grammatically, it doesn’t take too long to learn the basics. The most challenging aspects for , however, tend to be […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/formal-informal-treatment/feed/ 116 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/today-yesterday-and-tomorrow/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/today-yesterday-and-tomorrow/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:32:50 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11639 Here’s how we refer to the present day, the day before, and the next day: Now let’s put them into context: By combining the terms and with ontem and amanhã, you can also form expressions to refer to the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow. antes + ontem = (Note: antes de ontem […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/today-yesterday-and-tomorrow/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/now-before-and-after-time-relationships/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/now-before-and-after-time-relationships/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:28:29 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11636 Let’s explore some examples of the most common words used to talk about the order and relationships among different events in time. It’s important to be able to talk about now, later, earlier, before, and after in Portuguese. Current Time is the term we use to refer to the present. Past and Future We use […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/now-before-and-after-time-relationships/feed/ 17 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/seasons-of-the-year/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/seasons-of-the-year/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:14:49 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11633 The seasons of the year are called in Portuguese. Their names have Latin origins, which by now you may have noticed is very common in Portuguese. (Don’t you wish you had paid more attention to Latin in school? 😜 ) Just like English, the seasons of the year are not capitalized in Portuguese. Each season […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/seasons-of-the-year/feed/ 12 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-holidays/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-holidays/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:09:02 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11631 The Portuguese calendar has several holidays and holiday periods throughout the year. Holiday can have two meanings in Portuguese: – A public holiday, or day to celebrate something of specific cultural or religious importance at a local or national level.  – A planned period of time off work or school. Férias are often scheduled around […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-holidays/feed/ 17 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/months-of-the-year/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/months-of-the-year/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:06:03 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11629 As you saw in previous lessons, the days of the week are very different from other languages. But as luck would have it, the names of  in Portuguese are quite similar to other languages, since we all use the same Gregorian calendar. All the names share common roots in Roman culture. The word is a masculine noun, so […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/months-of-the-year/feed/ 6 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/hours-and-telling-time/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/hours-and-telling-time/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 12:56:25 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11595 Let’s learn how to tell time in Portuguese! That way you’ll know whether you are , , or . 🙂 If you don’t have a phone or watch with you, you could ask someone , i.e. “What hours are there?” A more formal/polite option is: , i.e. “Do you have hours that you tell me?” The […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/hours-and-telling-time/feed/ 28 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-greetings-throughout-the-day/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-greetings-throughout-the-day/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 12:32:44 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11585 Let’s start with the basics! One of the simplest Portuguese greetings is and one of the simplest ways to say goodbye is , or the slightly more formal . However, it’s also very common to say hello or goodbye with a more specific greeting based on what time of day it is. Portuguese Greetings Throughout […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/portuguese-greetings-throughout-the-day/feed/ 57 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/days-of-the-week/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/days-of-the-week/#comments Sun, 26 Mar 2017 12:27:45 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11581 In Portuguese, the naming of does not take inspiration from the planets and gods, as is the case for many other languages. Instead, they are simply numbered. The origin of the names of the days of the week in Portuguese The numbering of each weekday in Portuguese might have to do with ancient Easter celebrations, […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/days-of-the-week/feed/ 24 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-a-with-demonstratives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-a-with-demonstratives/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2017 23:02:36 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11420 As previously mentioned, the preposition can be combined with the articles o, a, os, and as to become ao, à, aos, and às. As far as demonstratives are concerned, a can only form contractions with aquele(s), aquela(s), and aquilo. A + Variable Demonstratives a + aquele = a + aqueles = a + aquela = […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-a-with-demonstratives/feed/ 3 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-preposition-a/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-preposition-a/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:44:09 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11418 A is a very important and versatile Portuguese preposition. It can correspond to many different English words, depending on the context. For example: – i.e. “From here to a week” – Within the time frame from now until a week from now More often than not, it means “to”, but it’s important not to get […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/the-preposition-a/feed/ 30 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-em-with-demonstratives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-em-with-demonstratives/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:29:11 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11411 The preposition can be combined with variable and invariable demonstratives to form a number of very useful contractions. Remember that all the same rules for demonstratives remain valid when they appear in the following contractions. Em + Variable Demonstratives Relative Position Demonstrative Contraction Near the speaker: Near the listener: Away from both: These contractions can be used […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-em-with-demonstratives/feed/ 8 https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-de-with-demonstratives/ https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-de-with-demonstratives/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:00:37 +0000 http://www.practiceportuguese.com/learn/?p=11404 You learned in The Preposition “De” (from the first Prepositions unit) that de has several different meanings and can be joined together (contracted) with: articles (do, da, dos, das), and pronouns (dele, dela, deles, delas) De + Variable Demonstratives Another very common combination is with demonstratives. Let’s look at the contractions formed by combining with variable demonstratives: […]]]> https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/combining-de-with-demonstratives/feed/ 8