As our dialogues become more complex, we need to know more and more vocabulary, grammar, and interesting turns of phrase. However, in doing so, we are approaching the natural speech of the Portuguese. At this rate, we will soon be able to understand even the nuances. This time we’ll talk about work. Sometimes it’s hard for us to orient ourselves on what we can talk about regarding our profession. But in this dialogue, you will find some ideas.
Dialogue, Part I
Rui: Olá, Sofia! Tudo bem? (Hello Sofia! Everything is fine?)
Sofia: Olá, Rui! Tudo bem, obrigada. E tu? (Hi Rui! Everything is fine, thank you. And you?)
Rui: Também estou bem, obrigado. Nunca te perguntei… onde trabalhas? (Also good, thanks. I never asked you… where do you work?)
Sofia: Trabalho numa escola aqui perto. Sou professora de crianças do 1.º ano. E tu, o que fazes? (I work at a school nearby. I’m a first-grade teacher. What are you doing?)
Rui: Trabalho num escritório de contabilidade. Sou assistente administrativo, e ajudo com as contas e com a organização de documentos. (I work in an accounting office. I am an administrative assistant, helping with accounts and organizing documents.)
Sofia: Ah, interessante! Gostas do que fazes? (Oh, interesting! Do you like what you do?)
Rui: Sim, gosto muito! O trabalho é variado, e tenho um bom ambiente com os meus colegas. Às vezes é um pouco cansativo, mas no geral gosto. E tu, gostas de ser professora? (Yes, I really like it! The work is varied, and I have a good atmosphere with my colleagues. Sometimes it’s a little tiring, but overall I like it. Does your aunt like being a teacher?)
Sofia: Gosto muito! Adoro ensinar e ver os alunos a aprender coisas novas. Mas, às vezes, é um desafio ter atenção a todos, porque são muitos e têm personalidades diferentes. (I really like it! I love teaching and seeing how students learn something new. But sometimes it’s a challenge to have everyone’s attention, because there are many of them and with different personalities.)
Rui: Imagino! Quantos alunos tens? (I can imagine! How many students do you have?)
Sofia: Este ano, tenho vinte e cinco alunos. São todos muito curiosos e fazem muitas perguntas. (This year I have twenty-five students. All are very inquisitive and ask a lot of questions.)
Rui: Vinte e cinco? Deve ser uma turma cheia de energia! (Twenty-five? This must be a class full of energy!)
Sofia: Sim, muita! Preciso de paciência, mas adoro o que faço. E tu? O teu trabalho é muito stressante? (Yes, very much! I need patience, but I love what I do. What about you? Is your job stressful?)
Rui: Às vezes, especialmente no fim do mês. Há sempre prazos e muitos números para confirmar, mas quando temos tempo, o ambiente é mais calmo. (Sometimes, especially at the end of the month. There are always deadlines and a lot of data to check, but when there is time, the situation is calmer.)
To be continued…
Vocabulary
The adjectives we can use to characterize our work say much more about its process than a dry description does. Pay attention to the highlighted adjectives in the dialogue:
- interessante (interesting)
- variado (varied)
- cansativo (tiring)
- stressante (stressful)
- curioso (curious)
Characteristics can be not only positive but also negative. Moreover, aside from the work tasks themselves, we also deal with colleagues and clients, who also deserve a few descriptors. Let’s expand our list:
- dinâmico (dynamic)
- monótono (monotonous)
- criativo (creative)
- irritante (irritating)
- produtivo (productive)
- repetitivo (repetitive)
- flexível (flexible)
- desafiador (challenging)
Remember that all adjectives change according to gender, except for those ending in “-nte” and “-el,” and number. Adjectives ending in “-el” change irregularly in the plural – to the ending “-eis.”
The verb “fazer”
In the dialogue, we encounter the verb fazer (to do/make). It is irregular but frequently used, so let’s take a look at its conjugation forms.
| Verbo «fazer» | |
| eu | faço |
| tu | fazes |
| ele, ela, você | faz |
| nós | fazemos |
| eles, elas, vocês | fazem |
- So instead of the formal question “qual é a tua profissão?” (what is your profession?), one can ask “o que fazes?” (what do you do?).
- No meu trabalho faço praticamente tudo! (At my job, I do practically everything!)
- Ele faz uma parte dos cálculos, e eu – de comunicação com clientes. (He does part of the calculations, and I – the communication with clients.)
The verb “haver”
The verb “haver,” like the verbs “ser” and “estar,” translates as “to be”, but it reflects existence rather than characteristics or location. You can confirm this by finding its usage in the dialogue above. It is also irregular, and its conjugation forms are special. However, they will be useful to us in another exclusive case that we will discuss another time. For now, we have some good news! In the simple present tense, we only need one form of it: há. Here are a few examples to reinforce your understanding of this verb in context.
- Há sempre muito trabalho. (There is always a lot of work.)
- Há algo positivo e negativo no meu trabalho. (There is something positive and something negative in my work.)
The word “muito”
You may have noticed that in the dialogue we come across different forms of the word “muito.” The thing is, we need to distinguish its meaning: there is the word “muito” meaning “very,” which is used with verbs, adjectives, or adverbs and never changes.
- Eles gostam muito do trabalho deles. (They really love their work.)
- O dia do trabalho passa muito rápido. (The workday passes very quickly.)
- Then there is the word “muito” in the sense of quantity – “a lot.” In this case, it is used with nouns and changes depending on the gender and number of that noun.
- Tenho muitas tarefas para fazer hoje. (I have a lot of tasks to do today.)
- Ela precisa de muita paciência. (She needs a lot of patience.)
Conclusion
Native speakers do not think about why they speak this way. And, if they have never been trained in the Portuguese language, they may not even be able to trace the logic and explain the rule. Therefore, learning Portuguese solely “on the street” may prolong your journey and make your speech less grammatically correct.