Português Aula 4: Números de 1 a 100 (Numbers from 1 to 100)

Olá, tudo bem?

Today let´s start learning the numbers in Portuguese.

Fonte: Google

Strict to the point:

1  um / uma (masculin/feminin)

*On phone, instead of seis (six) we say meia (from meia-dúzia - half a dozen)

2  dois / duas
3  três
4  quatro
5  cinco
6  seis (meia*)
7  sete
8  oito
9  nove
10 dez

11  onze
12  doze
13  treze
14  quatorze
15  quinze
16  dezesseis
17  dezessete
18  dezoito
19  dezenove
20  vinte

21  vinte e um / vinte e uma
22  vinte e dois / vinte e duas

30  trinta

40  quarenta

50 cinquenta

60  sessenta

70  setenta

80  oitenta

90  noventa

100  cem



Note: the numbers 1 and 2, including 21, 22, 31, 32, etc, have a feminin and a masculin form depending on the noun they refer.

Exemple: A casa          >> Uma casa                     (feminin)
                The house    >> One / A House


                O chocolate    >>  Um chocolate           (masculin)
                The chocolate >> One / A chocolate


                A cadeira  >> 21 cadeiras (vinte e uma cadeiras)    (feminin)
                The chair  >> 21 chairs (twenty one chairs)

             
                O quadro     >>  32 quadros (trinta e dois quadros)    (masculin)
                The picture  >>  32 pictures (thirty two pictures)


Até logo!

Historia do Brasil (History of Brazil)

Olá,

Tudo bem?

Well today the topic is History.

"Historians and scientists have discovered that communities of people were living in what is now known as Brazil as long as 8 000 years ago. These first traceable human beings were nomadic and semi-nomadic people who are believed (although not proven) to have come from parts of Asia in search of abundant hunting grounds. They were called Indians by the Portuguese, when this European nation eventually arrived. To get to South America from Asia, they had to cross the Pacific Ocean and / or Bering Strait.

Eventually, the population could be divided into 1) agricultural settlements, which cultivated and lived off the land, and 2) semi-nomadic people, who moved around to find suitable food and water. These early societies hunted, fished and grew their own goods to survive. The farming folk lived to the west of the Andes Mountain Range and eventually became urbanised over time. The semi-nomadic travellers lived to the east of these mountains. Neither of these civilisations developed a significant written form of history or any major buildings. Therefore, little is known about Brazil’s earliest inhabitants.

Conquest of the Amazon on 5 Cruzerios 1962 Banknote from Brazil.

Individual indigenous tribes and settlements numbered around 2 000 when the Portuguese first discovered Brazil, as it came to be known. When these Europeans arrived in the 16th century, they found themselves amidst a people that practiced cannibalism, were involved in tribal warfare and would fight for the popular brazilwood tree for its valuable red dye. Therefore, these new arrivals felt it was necessary to ‘civilise’ the natives. They also immediately began to indulge in sexual relations with these ones, creating a very mixed culture, which remains one of the characteristics of the country to this day. They also brought with them many diseases from Europe, which wiped out vast numbers of the Brazilian natives. Although unintentional, this was responsible for the deaths of entire tribes as they swept through the country uncontrolled and untreated. The original population of these indigenous ones is estimated to be around 200 000 today, with most of these ones inhabiting the jungles.

Indian children on 1000 Cruzeiros banknote from Brazil.

Portugal was experiencing a massive economic crisis at this time, leading to a mass move of these people into South America, where they saw the potential to trade and to settle on safe, fertile land. However, they did not find much worth trading except the brazilwood trees. These settlers created their homes and communities mainly along the shore, where the ocean could provide them with food and a convenient transport route.

Fonte: Google

Slavery was a major trend in Brazil, although this was rarely recorded in the official annals of history. These slaves were brought to South America from Africa. Therefore, many of the modern-day people of Brazil have African genes too.

When gold was found in Brazil in the 1690’s, this country was finally recognised for its mineral and trading potential. Approximately a century later, though, it was clear that the gold deposits were limited and that the agricultural value of this country remained its main asset. Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in 1807 and the Prince Regent, Dom Joao, arrived shortly thereafter. When Dom Joao returned to Portugal in 1821, he left Brazil in the hands of his son, Dom Pedro. However, when the king tried to return to what was, essentially, his territory (Brazil), his son rebelled, declaring this country’s independence from Portugal." (Source: Brazil)

"Independence or death! - by Ipiranga river in São Paulo
Fonte: Google

There's already plenty material about our History on web, but I'd like to feature a 7 minutes video that gives an idea about important facts.

If you want to learn more, a lot of information can be found in the guide Lonely Planet or in Wikipedia.

In case you don't find something don't hesitate to contact me.

Até logo!

Português Aula 3: Pronomes (Pronouns)

Olá!

Tudo bem?


So today I'm gonna start something important if you intend to make sentences: Pronouns (Pronomes).

The first difference at least between Portuguese and English is about the neutral pronoun "It". Im Portuguese there's no such thing. Then it doesn't matter if you are talking about things or animals, we use the same feminin ou masculin pronouns we use for people.

This is also something important: our nouns change the ending if they are relating to feminin or masculin pronouns! See some information further in this post. Let's have a look on the pronouns in portuguese:

Fonte: http://osestrelinhas.blogs.sapo.pt/pronomes-pessoais-154493

Eu >> I

Tu* >> You

Você* >> You

Ele** >> He

Ela** >> She

Nós >> We


Vós* >> You

Vocês* >> You

Eles >> They (masculin)

Elas >> They (feminin)


* "Tu" is used mainly in the south and some coast cities although in daily conversations they don't conjugate the verbs correctly. "Tu" itself is the formal way to relate to someone.

* "Você" is the substitute for "tu" in most of the country. It's always informal and should not be used to somone you don't know, someone you deserve respect like older people, or formal situations. However, in daily life you'll see people who says "você" to everybody.

"Vós" is used only in very formal situations such as court or parliament. Instead, use "Vocês" (plural) in daily life or "os Senhores" (masculin) and "as Senhoras" (feminin) in a meeting or speach for example.

Well most of the time people don't feel insulted by being called "você", some even prefer that in order to feel younger, but in general I'd recommend saying:


Formal

Senhor + first name (masculin)  

Senhora + first name (feminin)


Informal


Seu + first name (masculin) 

Dona + first name (feminin)


For doctors and professors


Doutor (Dr.) + first name (masculin)

Professor (Prof.) + first name (masculin)

Doutora (Dra.) + first name (feminin)

Professora (Profa.) + first name (feminin)


** We don't have a neutral pronoun like "it", so when you wanto to refer to things and animals you need to know if it is feminin or masculin! Sounds weard to English speakers, but it's important in portuguese.

So every noun in portuguese is suitable to an article "a" (feminin) or "o" (masculin). It represents the "the" in English, but here there are two differents depending on the genre.

Some nouns have only one genre, always.

Example:

A mesa (The table)

O computador (The computer)


Some nouns may have two genres, then the ending changes to suit the article:

O menino (The boy)

A menina (The girl)


I guess it's too much information for today. No more torture!


Até logo!

Português Aula 2: Perguntando o nome (Asking somebody's name)

Hi everybody!


Well, after greeting it's time to ask names and introduce yourselves. In Portuguese there are more than one sentence to ask somebody's name:




Qual é o seu nome?

Fonte:http://portuguesparahispanohablantes.blogspot.com.br

> What is your name?

Como é seu nome?
> How is your name?

Seu nome é...?
> Your name is...?

Desculpe, não sei o seu nome...
> I'm sorry, I don't know your name...

Como você se chama? (more formal)
> What is your name?




All of these sentences are suitable for any situation, although "Como você se chama?" is a bit more formal.

Curiosity: In the past another way to ask names was "Qual é a sua graça?", very oldfashioned!




But how do you answer saying your name?


Meu nome é João? > My name is João,

Eu me chamo Camila. > My name is Camila.

Eu sou o Miguel? > I am Miguel.


In a new post I'll introduce you to to the forms of address, but for now it's good to know brazilians are  usually very informal when addressing others.


I hope you enjoy!

Até logo!

Português Aula 1: Cumprimentos (Greetings)

Fonte: Google

Hi everybody!


Today I start with some Portuguese (Português) classes. 

I'll try to number all the classes in order to make it easier to follow the topics.

Today the subject is Cumprimentos (Greetings)

Brazilians are a very warm people. It's common to greet with one ore to kisses in the cheek and a tender hug.

In formal situations a hand shaking is perfect.

How about language? 


Situações formais (formal situations)

Bom dia! > Good morning!

Boa tarde! > Good afternoon!

Boa noite! > Good evening! or Good night! 
(In Portuguese it makes no difference if you just arrived or if you are leaving)

Como vai (você)? > How are you?

Muito prazer! > Nice to meet you!

Até logo! > See you soon! 

Até mais tarde! See you later!

Até amanhã! > See you tomorrow!


Situações informais (informal situations)

Oi! > Hi!

Olá! > Hello!

Tudo bem? > How's it going?

Tchau! > Bye!


Well but in every language there's what you find in books and what you find in real life. Concerning Portuguese, all the expressions above are really said in social life, but you'll notice some of the following expressions when you pay attention to native speakers talking:


E aí? > What's up?

Oie! > Hi! (in a cute way)

Até! > See ya!

Falou! > (The meaning is the same as "bye", but here is a slam - the translations would be "spoken", what make no sense at all. So use with friends only. It's very informal)

Soon I'll arrange to add audio to help with pronunciation. But for now I suggest web sites where you can find pronunciation for many languages: Forvo or The Free Dictionary.

To finish,a curiosity: In São Paulo usually we kiss only once when greeting. In Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Minas Gerais two kisses are fine. When in northeast 3 kisses!

Fahrenheit or Celsius: Always high temperatures anyway!

Hi everybody!


From southest to northest we enjoy (or do not enjoy so much...) warm weather from around novermber to april. Even in winter low temperatures are not so common and happen mainly in June and July. That means if you are coming do Brazil bet on summer clothes, sun lotion and sunglasses.

Pôr do sol em Ceará-Nordeste (Fonte: arquivo pessoal)

Talking about temperature, here we measure temperature in Celsius (°C). If you are coming from a Fahrenheit country it's interesting to know how to convert into Celsius.

There are some websites (tip:Metric Conversions) and apps for cel phone to help you on it. But in case you don't have technology working for you, here is the old and original method.

Lagoinha-Ceará-Nordeste (Fonte: arquivo pessoal)

Example:

74 °F = ? °C
74 - 32 = 42
42 / 1.8 = 23°C

or

30°C = ? °F
30 x 1.8 = 54
54 + 32 = 86 °F

Saudações do Brasil!



Source: http://pt.wikihow.com/Fazer-a-Convers%C3%A3o-entre-Fahrenheit-e-Celsius#Fahrenheit_para_Celsius_sub

Bem-vindos ao Brasil!

Hi everybody!

If you love Brasil, or if you don't know anything about our country, or maybe you are planing to move in, here is your place.

I'm Kelly Maxwell, brasilian, married to a Ghanian man, live in São Paulo, language lover (mainly english lover) and I'll try to show a bit how my country works, a bit about Portuguese (Português), curiosities etc.

I hope it's useful an joyable!

Bem-vindos ao Brasil!