Every activity has to start somewhere. The easier and more productive the first lesson is, the more pleasant it will be to continue doing this business. This is especially true for learning foreign languages, when you have to master a lot of new information.
In today’s article, we will start with what any person who sets foot on Portuguese soil will need. It is, of course, the ability to present oneself and get to know others.
Greetings
If a person arrives in the country with Portuguese airlines, the first thing he hears from the stewards and stewardesses on board are words of welcome. Like any language, Portuguese has both formal and informal greetings.
An informal greeting is the word olá (hello). However, this does not mean that it is impossible to address any person in Portugal in this way, but there is a nuance.
You can formally greet the Portuguese or hear it from them as follows:
- Bom dia – good morning
- Boa tarde – good afternoon
- Boa noite – good evening
Many are perplexed why the word “dia” is translated as “day”, and the meaning of the phrase speaks of “morning”. Actually, the logic is simple. The day begins in the morning and it is in the morning that it is the time to wish a person a good day. That is, the speaker wishes a good rest of the day: in the morning until 12.00 – there is still a whole day ahead; in the afternoon from 12.00 to 20.00 – the second half of the day and evening are ahead, but in the evening there is only night ahead. This is where these expressions come from.
That is, Portuguese greetings contain not only the desire to somehow start a dialogue and mark part of the day, but also wish good things for the future.
Moreover, if we combine the informal “olá” and the formal greeting, this combination will make the whole expression formal. For example, “olá, bom dia” is a completely formal expression, so you can always and everywhere start a greeting with the seemingly informal “olá“, because the formal part neutralizes its informality.
Goodbyes
The basic words for saying goodbye to a person are the informal tchau (bye) and the formal adeus (goodbye). Although the Portuguese do not get hung up on which option is best for each situation and pronounce any of them.
In addition, you can roughly indicate until what moment the farewell will take place:
- Até quarta – until Wednesday (see you on Wednesday)
- Até às 18.00 – until 18.00 (meet me at 18.00)
- Até amanhã – see you tomorrow
You can also make the deadline less specific:
- Ate já – see you soon (see you soon)
- Até logo – see you soon (see you later)
- Até a próxima – see you next time
Moreover, the expressions that we saw in the “greetings” section are also suitable for goodbyes, because you can wish good things at the end of the conversation. Don’t be surprised if you hear: “Adeus. Bom dia“. By the way, it will not be superfluous if you thank the wish: “obrigado” – if you are a man, “obrigada” – if you are a woman.
Names
When meeting, immediately after the greeting, it is customary to find out the name of the interlocutor. For this, we need the verb “chamar-se“. If you disassemble this word into its components, then chamar is “call“, and “-se” is a reflexive particle that means “yourself“. As a result, he gets “chamar-se” – “to name oneself.”
In Portuguese, absolutely all verbs are conjugated depending on the pronoun they refer to. There are regular and irregular verbs. Correct means they obey the general rule, and incorrect means they have their own individual forms that need to be remembered.
Let’s see how the correct verb “chamar” is conjugated, and at the same time look at the pronoun options:
| Verbo “chamar“ | |
| Eu | chamo |
| Tu | chamas |
| Ele, ela, você | chama |
| Nós | chamamos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | chamam |
The reflexive particle “-se” is also conjugated depending on the pronoun to which the verb refers. Let’s see how:
| Particle “-se” | |
| Eu | –me |
| Tu | –te |
| Ele, ela, você | –se |
| Nós | –nos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | –se |
We can now compose our first sentence in Portuguese:
- Ola! Eu chamo-me Maria. (Hi! My name is Maria.)
- Ele chama-se Robert. (His name is Robert.)
- Eles chamam-se Ana e Pedro. (Their names are Ana and Pedro.)
It is not necessary to pronounce the pronoun at all. At the end of the verb, it is already clear who it is:
- Chamas-te Frederico. (Your name is Frederica.)
For the pronoun “nós“, you need to remember that in the presence of a reflexive particle, the letter “s” at the end of the verb disappears:
Chamamo-nos Kristina e Manuel. (We are Christina and Manuel.)
Questions
In order to ask the name of a person, you need to remember two details. The first detail is the word “como” (how). The second detail is that it attracts the return particle and puts it in front of the verb.
- Como te chamas? (What is your name?)
- Como nos chamamos? (What’s our name?)
Note that the reflexive particle moves to a position before the verb after all interrogative words. For example, in this topic, we need the question word “quem” (who?). And to make a complete question and then an answer, we need to get acquainted with the irregular verb “ser” (to be).
| Verbo “ser“ | |
| Eu | sou |
| Tu | és |
| Ele, ela, você | é |
| Nós | somos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | são |
- Quem são eles? (Who are they?)
- Ela é a Catarina e ele é o João. (She is Katarina and he is Joao.)
Now for the first time we have met with definite articles in Portuguese. As you can see from the example, we put the definite article “a” before the female names, and the definite article “o” before the male names.
Please note that after the verb “chamar-se” the article is not needed, but after the verb “ser” it is. Days of the week
Since we have learned to say goodbye until a certain day, let’s replenish our vocabulary:
- Segunda-feira – Monday
- Terça-feira – Tuesday
- Quarta-feira – Wednesday
- Quinta-feira – Thursday
- Sexta-feira – Friday
- Sábado – Saturday
- Domingo – resurrection
The word “feira” can be omitted, it is enough to say “segunda“, “terça” and so on.In order to ask what day it is today, let’s get acquainted with the interrogative word “que” (what) and the words “hoje” (today) and “amanhã” (tomorrow).Que dia é hoje? (What day is today?)
Que dia é amanhã? (What day is tomorrow?)
Conclusion
One article is enough to learn how to build an elementary dialogue and get important information. Still want to bet that Portuguese is an easy language?