Brazilian Portuguese/Chapter 2

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[[Brazilian Portuguese
Português Brasileiro]]
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Chapter 2


A Memorial to Juscelino Kubitschek in Brasília, the "Bossa Nova President" (O Presidente Bossa Nova)
Chapter 2 - Profissões
This Lesson's Vocabulary

Professions and their Variations

Adjectives

This Lesson's Grammar

Ser and its Uses

Proper Use of Adjectives

Fazer


Dialogue edit

What do you do? edit

Pedro: João, o que você faz?

João: Sou médico. E você?

Pedro: Que coincidência! Também sou médico!

João: Que interessante!


O que você faz? - What do you do?
o que - what (lit. "the what")
você faz? - do you do? (lit. "you do")
faz - you/he does; conjugated from the irregular verb Fazer
Sou médico. E você? - I'm a doctor. And you?
sou - I'm; conjugated from the irregular verb Ser (lit. "am". Note that the pronoun there is hidden. "Eu sou" = "I am")
médico - doctor
e você? - And you?
Que coincidência! Também sou médico! - What a coincidence! I'm a doctor too!
que - what
também - too, also, either
Que interessante! - Interesting! (lit. What interesting!)

Structures: Que ...! edit

The structure "Que...!" in portuguese is, in certain ways, unique. The structure that is similar to it in the English language is "That`s...!" or sometimes only a word: "Word!". For example: in the dialogue João says "Que interessante!", in this case it would be like an "Interesting!" (lit. That`s interesting!). Examples of similar "Que...!" structures in english:

  1. That`s...! That is nice!; In portuguese: "Legal!", "Isso é legal!".
  2. Word! Wonderful!; in portuguese: "Maravilhoso!".

Structures: Professions Without Articles edit

Pronunciation edit

The Acute Accent edit

The acute accent marks, in general sense, the stressed syllable, which has an important word distinction function in Portuguese, as in:

  • Sabia (You-singular, he, she or it knew or used to know)
  • Sábia (Wise-feminine)
  • Sabiá (Bird family common in Brazil)

Words that don't have their stressed syllable on its standart position, an accent is used. The acute accent can be found above the five vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú), and it also brings some extra information about the vowel openness itself.

The grapheme Á É Í Ó Ú
The [phonetic transcription] a ɛ i ɔ u
Approximation in English Father Bed See Saw Pool
Example Água Café Ímã Óbvio Último

The Circumflex Accent edit

The circumflex accent marks the stressed syllable, like the acute accent. The distinction between them is important to distinguish words, as in:

  • Avo (Counter of denominators in fractions, when the denominator is a large number)
  • Avó (Grandmother)
  • Avô (Grandfather)

Unlike the acute accent, the circumflex can olny appear above the letters A, E and O. The circumflex also carries information about the openness of the vowels.

The grapheme Â Ê Ô
The [phonetic transcription] ɐ* e o
Approximation in English Above Say Know
Example Lâmpada Bêbado Robô

ɐ* Exists in specific loan words, like Dâbliu (Double-U). The actual grapheme always appears in front of N or M, making it sound nasal, just like Ã.

Vocabulary edit


Watch out - professor can be used for both teachers and professors, although mestre can also be used for the latter.

Varying Genders of Nouns edit

Brazilian Portuguese • Chapter 2
Varying Genders  

Inglês Masculine Feminine
Artist Artista Artista
Doctor Médico Médica
Lawyer Advogado Advogada
Policeman Policial Policial
Writer Escritor Escritora
Teacher Professor Professora
Firefighter Bombeiro Bombeira
Mechanic Mecânico Mecânica

Adjectives edit

Adjectives that are the same for masculine or feminine nouns. Ele/ela é interessante. Ele/ela é inteligente. Ele/ela é diferente. Ele/ela é normal. Ele/ela é valente. Ele/ela é irritante. Ele/ela é útil. Ele/ela é capaz. Ele/ela é sensível. Ele/ela é sutil. Ele/ela é devagar. Ele/ela é triste. Ele/ela é feliz.

Adjectives that change for masculine and feminine nouns. Ele é bonito. Ela é bonita. Ele é esperto. Ela é esperta. feio rápido burro grosseiro charmoso apático

Generally adjectives ending with A or O are feminine and masculine

Exercises edit

Grammar edit

Ser edit

Ser is the other verb that means "to be" (The first one is the verb estar). It is used to express a permanent condition or fact.

Brazilian Portuguese Usage • Chapter 2
Ser   To Be (factual)

Permanent Description
What Something's Made Of
Permanent Facts

Here is its conjugation:

Brazilian Portuguese Verb • Chapter 2
Ser   To Be (factual)

Eu sou Nós somos
Tu és Vós sois
Você é Vocês são
Ele/Ela é Eles/Elas são

Fazer edit

Fazer means to do or to make. It can be used interchangeable between the two definitions. It is an irregular verb, so it doesn't follow the rules of other -er verbs.

Brazilian Portuguese Verb • Chapter 2
Fazer   To Do/Make

Eu faço Nós fazemos
Tu fazes Vós fazeis
Você faz Vocês fazem
Ele/Ela faz Eles/Elas fazem

Here are a few examples of its uses:

O que o médico faz? (Questions are discussed in the next section)

Asking "What" Questions edit

Adjectives edit

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun by giving more information about it. They answer the questions, "what kind?", "which one?", "how many?", and "how much?".

Adjective Placement edit

Subject-Adjective Agreement edit

 
Um pintor faz pinturas.

Exercises edit

Culture edit

Bossa Nova edit

Bossa Nova is a movement of the MPB(Música popular brasileira/Popular Brazilian Music)that has been popularized by artists like Tom Jobim and João Gilberto.

This musical style evolved from samba but it's more complex harmonically, less precursive and more refined.

Machado de Assis edit

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was born in June 21 1939. He is one of the most famous Brazilian writers. Machado de Assis was born in Rio de Janeiro, that was the capital of The Empire of Brazil.

He was a playwright,novelist, short stories writer(Contos, in Brazil).

Review edit

 
Chapter 1
[[Brazilian Portuguese
Português Brasileiro]]
 
Chapter 3
Chapter 2