One of the most important tasks in the life of every person is to choose a home for themselves. This does not necessarily involve buying your own home. We often approach the choice of accommodation on vacation very carefully. Therefore, today we will study new vocabulary and grammar within the framework of this topic.
Parts of the apartment
The topic of housing is vast: parts of a building, pieces of furniture, characteristics of premises, and so on. One article will not be enough to cover everything. Therefore, we will leave the main material for the lessons of the course, and today we will talk about parts of an apartment or house:
- garagem – garage
- varanda – balcony
- terraço – terrace
- escada – stairs
- cozinha – kitchen
- sala de estar – living room
- quarto – room
- casa de banho – bathroom
- marquise – storage room
Now you can describe the basic requirements for the apartment you want to live in: the number of rooms, the presence of a balcony, for example. But this cannot be limited to the characteristics of the apartments. Let’s see what else we can add.
Categorically
Sometimes categorically is necessary in our demands and criticism. If we want the street to be quiet, then absolutely no noise, and not just at night, for example. To emphasize this categorization, we need to use the word “nenhum” (none). It declines in gender and number, depending on the noun to which it refers. That is:
O apartamento não tem aquecimento nenhum. (There is no heating in the apartment at all.)
Não quero ter vizinhos nenhuns. (I don’t want to have neighbors at all.)
Na escada deste prédio não há luz nenhuma. (There is no light at all on the stairs in this building.)
Na rua não há flores nenhumas. (There are no flowers on the street at all).
The word “nenhum” is very similar to the word “ninguém“. There is even some similarity in their sense. However, do not confuse them. “Ninguém” is an independent part of the language, and “nenhum” requires a noun to refer to and to which it will obey when declining.
The verb “subir”
Today we will look at a few irregular verbs that will help us when choosing an apartment. For example, it is important to decide on which floor we want an apartment, whether there is an elevator.In this case, we need the verb “subir” (to rise). In the table below you can see the forms of its conjugation:
| Verbo “subir“ | |
| Eu | subo |
| Tu | sobes |
| Ele, ela, você | sobe |
| Nós | subimos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | sobem |
Let’s see some phrases:
Vivo no décimo andar e subo as escada todos os dias quatro vezes. Estou farto! (I live on the eleventh floor and climb the stairs four times every day. I’m sick of this!)
Os preços dos hotéis sobem muito no verão. (Hotel prices go up a lot in summer.)
As you can see, the “subir” verb can be used in relation to prices. Also, you can, for example, “subir as montanhas” (to climb the mountains).
The verbs “sair” and “cair”
Two more similar irregular verbs “sair” (to leave) and “cair” (to fall). Their conjugation forms differ only in the first letter. Let’s take a look at the table:
| Verbos “sair” and “cair” | |
| Eu | saio
caio |
| Tu | sais
cais |
| Ele, ela, você | sai
cai |
| Nós | saímos
caímos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | saem
caem |
How to apply them in this topic, we will now see in the examples:
A porta é longe? Quero sair daqui. (Is the door far away? I want to get out of here.)
Este quadro cai sempre quando saio do quarto e fecho a porta. (This picture always falls when I go out the room and close the door.)
Moreover, all verbs with the ending “-air” are conjugated in the same way.
The verb “dizer”
It’s time to learn the often used verb “dizer” (to say, to tell). It is irregular, but only for the pronoun “eu“.
For conjugation forms, see the table:
| Verbo “dizer“ | |
| Eu | digo |
| Tu | dizes |
| Ele, ela, você | diz |
| Nós | dizemos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | dizem |
Sometimes we have to help friends find or buy a home. To do this, we need to know how to convey their requirements and wishes. The verb “dizer” will help us with this.
A Joana diz que quer comprar um apartamento pequeno. (Joana says she wants to buy a small apartment.)
Os meus pais dizem que não gostam deste hotel, por isso amanhã vamos embora. (My parents say they don’t like this hotel, so we leave tomorrow.)
O Germano quer receber um crédito, mas não diz nada aos seus pais. (Germano wants to get a loan, but has not said anything to his parents yet.)
The verb “dizer” gives us more options in Portuguese. With its help, we can retell dialogues, transmit news and congratulations.
The verbs “ser” and “estar”
We remember that the verb “ser” (to be) is used with a constant characteristic, and the verb “estar” (to be) – with a temporary one. In relation to housing, this principle also works. That is:
Nesta casa está muito frio! É preciso de ligar o aquecimento. (It’s very cold in this house! You need to turn on the heating.)
A cozinha é grande! (The kitchen is big!)
Therefore, do not get confused by the verbs when you ask the landlord questions. Temporary defects can be eliminated, but permanent ones are unlikely.
Conclusion
If after reading this article you want to learn more and more about the Portuguese language, then we are doing everything right. The articles are just a glimpse into the vast world of Portuguese. You can learn much more in our lessons!