Portuguese in Six Weeks

Day 4

Verbs

People get scared when verbs are mentioned, but seriously, they are not that hard!

Here are some we have already used.

Audio

ser – to be = eu sou – I am / ele é – he is

morar – to live / to reside = eu moro – I live / ele mora – he lives

ter – to have = eu tenho – I have / ele tem – he has

trabalhar – to work = eu trabalho – I work / ele trabalha – he works  

querer – to want = nós queremos – we want 

ficar – to stay

Today we are going to learn the verb SER – to be.
(Yay!! I bet you can’t wait?!))

Eu quero ser rico – I want to be rich (m)

Vai ser muito bom! – it is going to be really good!

Eu sou rico agora – I am rich now

The verb TO BE in English is irregular. What that means is simply that when we conjugate it (change it) for each person, it is different. e.g:

To be

I am

You are

He is /she is

We are

They are

We don’t say: 

They is; we am; I are (well, we might do in some regions…)

I is going to the shop (no!)

You is my friend (no!)

NOTE: he, she and it, are the same: he is; she is, it is.

We have already established that; Eu = I;  Ele = he; Ela = she

Eu sou Jane – I am Jane

Ele é inglés – he is a English

Ela é inglesa – she is a English

Like English we also have; you, we and they, these are called:

Personal pronouns:

Audio

eu = I (aay-oo, aay-oo, daylight come and me wanna go home!)

tu = you (this one is used for close friends, children and animals)

ele = he (almost sounds like the word ‘eel’ or the French ‘il’.

ela = she

nós = we (the ‘s’ sounds like the ‘s’ in the word ‘pleasure’.

eles = they (men or mixed group – imagine Sean Connery saying eels)

você = you (used on most occasions)

vocês = you all ( used when speaking to more than one person)

Don’t be scared it is not as hard as it looks. 

Verb SER – to be

Listen to the audio and repeat. This verb needs to be learnt off by heart if possible. Copy it out on a post-it and put it on your bathroom mirror 🙂

Audio

Note: ‘elas‘ is used for a group of women only, ‘eles‘ can be used for a group of men or even a mixed group.

Professions

When we talk about professions in portuguese we use the verb SER and we miss out the article ‘a’.  For example in English we would say:

He is a doctor

In Portuguese we simply say:

ele é médico – he is doctor  (Like a Russian spy from those old movies)

ela é enfermeira – she is nurse (or like Manuel from Fawlty Towers)

We change the gender (masculine or feminine) according to the person who holds that profession. 

ele é médico – he is (a) doctor (m)

ela é médica – she is (a) doctor* (f)

*Notice how for ‘ela’ the ending changes to an ‘a’. This applies to most professions. However there are exceptions: (There always are !)

The word for dentist is neutral, as are a few others.

Ele é dentista – he is a dentist (m)

Ela é dentista – she is a dentist (f)

If there is more than one person we add an ‘s’ to the end, like we would in English

eles são dentistas – they are dentists

For doctors though, the plural takes on the masculine form, unless it is women only,
A Maria e o João são médicos – Maria and João are doctors

How do we use the verb SER?

Audio 1, listen and repeat

We use the verb SER to describe somebody

Eu sou magra – I am thin

Tu és bonita – you are beautiful (to a woman)

Ele é alto – he is tall

Ela é rica – she is rich

Nós somos inteligentes – we are intelligent / smart

Eles são chatos – they are boring

Vocês são simpáticos – you are all friendly

A Maria é baixa – Maria is short

O João é bonito – João is handsome

We use SER for nationality

Audio 2, listen and repeat

Sou francesa – I am French (francês / francesa)

Tu és espanhol – you are Spanish (espanhol / espanhola)

Ele é escocês – he is Scottish (escocês / escocesa)

Ela é irlandesa – she is Irish (irlandês / irlandesa)

Nós somos italianos – we are Italian (italiano / italiana)

Vocês são ingleses – you are all English (male or mixed)

O João é português – João is Portuguese (português / portuguesa)

O João e a Joana são portugueses – João and Joana are Portuguese

We use SER for professions

Audio 3, listen and repeat.

Sou secretária – I am a secretary

Tu és advogado – you are a lawyer

Ela é enfermeira – she is a nurse

Ele é contabilista – he is an accountant

Nós somos dentistas – we are dentists

Eles são polícias – they are policemen (can be a mixed group f + m)

A Joana é cabeleireira – Joana is a hairdresser

O Miguel é professor – Miguel is a teacher

Adjectives. We use these words to describe people and things

Audio. Listen and repeat

alto / alta = tall / high

baixo / baixa = short / low (‘x’ sounds like ‘sh’ in this word)

rico / rica = rich ( the ‘r’ at the beginning of a word, is rolled or sounds like a heavy ‘h’)

simpático / simpática = friendly

magro / magra = thin / low fat (food)

bonito / bonita = handsome / beautiful / nice

chato / chata = boring / irritating / dull (the ‘ch’ always sound like ‘sh’)

Can you say your name, what nationality you are and what you do for a living?
Can you describe yourself or somebody else? Don’t forget to change the gender where applicable.

• Sou o John, sou francês e sou médico
• Sou a Maria, sou portuguesa e sou cabeleireira
• Sou alto e magro
• Ela é simpática e bonita

Sou____________(name)

Sou____________ ( nationality)

Sou___________ (profession)

Click here for  a list of professions. See if you can find yours (Don’t worry you don’t have to copy the list out by hand!)

Fill in missing verb in your notebooks. Write the whole phrase out.

Ela ______ médica – she is a doctor

Ele _____ inglês – he is English

Eles _____ simpáticos – they are nice

Você _____ rico – you are rich 

Nós _______ casados – we are married

Eu _____ a Jane – I am Jane

Elas ____ amigas – they are friends

Ele _____ português –  he is Portuguese

Then…take the multiple choice quiz for day 4 to find the answers.

End of Day 4!!