Life is not only the memories of the past or the fantasies of the future. Life is a moment between the past and the future. This is what is happening right now. Let’s learn how to talk about it in Portuguese.
The form
In fact, everything is very simple. It is enough just to use a combination of the verb “estar“, the preposition “a” and the infinitive of the main verb.
That is, remember the form: estar a + infinitive
Estou a falar com a minha amiga. (I am talking to my friend.)
Estás a almoçar num café ou em casa? Estou a ouvir barulho. (Do you have lunch in a cafe or at home? I’m hearing a noise.)
Habitualmente nós tomamos café, mas agora estamos a beber chá. (We usually drink coffee, but now we are drinking tea.)
Note that the verb “estar” is conjugated as usual. Very convenient, right? To say what we are doing at the moment, you do not need to think about the conjugation of the main verb. It is enough to remember how the verb “estar” is conjugated.
Also, we cannot consider such actions to be regular, so we often use this form in conjunction with the adverbs “agora” (now), “neste momento” (at this moment).
Vocabulary
More often than not, we have to talk about what we are doing at the moment, in the current conversation. We describe what we see, hear, feel right now when we are talking to someone right now. And in the digital era, we talk a lot on the phone.
Let’s find out useful expressions on this topic:
- ligar – call
- atender o telefone – answer a call
- deixar uma mensagem – leave a message
- voltar a ligar – call back
- número ocupado – the number is busy
- telefonema / chamada – phone call
- mensagem de voz – voice message
Moreover, when answering a phone call, we say the following words: alô, estou, está. And we say goodbye in the same way as after meeting in reality.
Verbs with the ending “-ir”
Such verbs are perhaps the most capricious and have a number of exceptions. But first, let’s see how the verb “partir” (to leave) conjugates, for example.
This way we will learn how verbs with the ending “-ir” are usually conjugated.
| Verbo “partir” | |
| Eu | parto |
| Tu | partes |
| Ele, ela, você | parte |
| Nós | partimos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | partem |
However, verbs such as “ouvir” (to listen), “conduzir” (to drive) and “divertir-se” (to have fun) have their own characteristics.
Let’s see them in examples and compare them with the “partir” conjugation forms.
Eu ouço/oiço música todos os dias. (I listen to music every day.)
Ele conduz muito bem. (He drives very well.)
Divirto-me todos os fins de semana. (I have fun every weekend.)
By the way, all verbs that end in “-zir” for pronouns ele/ela/você have an ending “-z” how for the verb “conduzir” in the example above. Among such verbs are: produzir (to produce), traduzir (to translate), reduzir (to reduce).
Prepositions
Since we are talking about the verb “partir“, we will tell you what preposition it requires after itself. If the preposition “a” is always put after the verb “chegar“, then the preposition “para” is always put after the verb “partir“. Namely:
A Maria parte para Paris amanhã. (Maria leaves for Paris tomorrow.)
Os pais partem hoje para Inglaterra. (Parents leave today for England.)
O comboio parte para o Porto daqui a 5 minutos. (The train leaves for Porto in 5 minutes.)
We know that the preposition “a” is used for short-term movements, and the preposition “para” is used for long-term ones. But in the case of the antonyms “chegar” and “partir“, the length of time at the destination is not important. They need to be remembered as an exception.
Exclamation
Presentation is often not just a listing of actions. Sometimes we describe the current actions by talking on the phone. But often we need to spice up the story with vivid emotions, so today we will learn how to express them.
Two similar words “tão” and “tanto” will help us in this. They reinforce the meaning of other parts of speech, meaning “so much,” “a lot of,” “very“. However, there is a difference between them all. Next, let’s see which one.
Tão
“Tão” is used before adjectives and adverbs and has something in common with “muito” (very):
Estas árvores são tão grandes! (These trees are so big!)
As tuas flores são tão bonitas! (Your flowers are so beautiful!)
Ela canta tão bem! (She sings so well!)
Also, you can add the word “que” and it turns out:
O teu irmão está tão doente que não consegue estudar. (Your brother is so sick that he cannot study.)
O cão do Joaquim é tão grande que tenho medo dele! (Joaquim’s dog is so big that I’m afraid of it!)
Tanto
“Tanto” is used with verbs and nouns and has the meaning of “so much, a lot of“. That is:
Estou a ouvir tanto barulho! (I hear so much noise!)
Estudas tanto! (Learning so much!)
Ele preocupa-se tanto com a sua mãe! (He worries so much about his mother!)
“Tanto“, unlike “tão“, is declined in gender and number. In other words, it has such forms as “tantos, tanta, tantas“, which are determined by the gender and number of the noun. “Tão” has only one form.
And also, here we can add the word “que” and get:
Tu trabalhas tanto que pareces doente! (You work so hard that you look sick!)
A Maria come tanto que depois se sente mal. (Maria eats so much that she doesn’t feel well afterwards.)
Conclusion
The Portuguese language is not difficult at all, because all the rules are logically explained and have similar forms in other languages.
However, who will tell you about this, if not the teacher? Our school is dominated by structure and discipline, so the results are immediate.
The information that the student gets during the lesson cannot be mixed, little by little about everything, and cannot be unrelated to a daily, practical topic. Everything that students study in our school is closely tied to those topics that they will definitely need in real life.
Welcome!