‘Não, não sei não.’ This is the pattern for Brazilians, to say ‘no’ three times in the sentence. It’s not that Valdo and Michelle are negative people, but they sure get their point across.
And speaking of their point of view, if YOU invite them to a party, YOU should really pay the tab!
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 10
Who would have ever guessed that Valdo and Michelle think that jeans and flip flops make a strange combination? Looks like we’ve just seen one more thing that makes Americans stand out. Note that this picture has got three Brazilians trying to dress like North Americans!
Oh yes, and grammar-wise, we’re talking about possessive pronouns. You might say, OUR comments to YOUR lesson.
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 9
So why is the plural of alemão alemães, but he plural of nação is nações? And why would the plural of mão be mãos? You know what, Valdo and Michelle have some hints to clear it all up.
What’s amazing is that they can talk about that and still have time to talk about car insurance in Brazil.
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 8
For all of you who learned how to speak Spanish, we all relive the nightmare experience of learning direct and indirect object pronouns. “Lo is direct, le is indirect. When you use both, put the indirect first; but you can’t say le lo, so change le to se and then say se lo, as in se lo di ‘I gave it to him’ …”
Bad memories for sure, but the good news is that none of that happens in Portuguese. In fact, Brazilians hardly ever use indirect objects. Instead they just say para ele ‘to him’, para ela ‘to her’, para eles ‘to them’. That’s what Orlando, Valdo, Michelle, and Jose Luís talk about in this lesson, which is just para vocês!
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 7
In this lesson Orlando dreams about being able to use the verb ficar when he is talking in Spanish. Ah, if they just had that verb in Spanish, it would make things a lot easier. Of course, for you Spanish speakers, you now have a chance to add ficar to your Portuguese. Whether it means to become, to be, to stay, to remain, to keep on, or any of the other meanings, you are sure to love this fantastic verb. And whoever said that verbs weren’t fun?
One caution, however, don’t study your verbs in a café, at least not in Brazil. Michelle and Valdo have a hard time getting used to the idea of studying in a café.
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 6
Here’s a trick question for Spanish speakers: Would it be better in Portuguese to say the equivalent of Siéntate or Siéntese? Answer: Don’t worry about the reflexive pronouns. Chances are that Brazilians won’t use them either. In this lesson, Valdo and Michelle help the rest of us to get a sense of the disappearing reflexive pronouns in Portuguese.
Michelle also adds how cool she thinks the use of coupons is here in Texas as well.
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 5
When you go, you will buy a soda. If you buy a soda, you will get refills. As soon as you get refills, you will sit down with friends to talk. Those who sit and talk with friends, will have a great time.
Yes, all of those sentences require the “future subjunctive” in Portuguese. So, if you listen to Orlando, Valdo, Michelle, and José Luís, you will also learn how to use the future subjunctive. Don’t be intimidated, Spanish speaking friends, it’s easier than you think!
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 4
The plural of Brazil, if there were two of them, would be “Brasis.” Now that would be a strange word! Spanish speakers aren’t sure how to make those words that end in “l” plural. Orlando, Valdo, Michelle, and José Luís try to tell us that it is as easy as “drop the l and add is,” but we’re sure there is more to it than that.
While they are talking about plurals, Valdo and Michelle also tell us about their experience in getting used to self serve gas stations in the U.S. too!
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 3
Can you believe how many contractions Portuguese has: nesse, num, do, naquele, aos, pelo, etc. The list goes on and on. When speakers of Spanish catch on to these contractions, sentences become instantly easier to understand. And that, of course, is what Orlando, Michelle, Valdo, and José Luís hope to do with today’s lesson on contractions.
At the same time, culturally, Valdo and Michelle found it hard to find their change that automatically fell out of a machine at the supermarket. Sure enough, that would be a new experience for visitors from Brazil.
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 2
We’ve made a switch. Welcome back to all who have previously listened to Tá Falado. Up to this point, we’ve always done pronunciation lessons. Today we introduce something new, our first grammar lesson! From here on out we’ll look at some of those items that make Spanish speakers shake their heads and say, ‘I thought Portuguese and Spanish were more similar than this.’ In lesson one, Orlando, Valdo, Michelle, and Jose Luís talk us through the verb ‘to like.’ We, in fact, hope that you like the lesson too.
Culturally, Valdo and Michelle confess that they have never understood why North Americans like to sit on the grass.
PODCAST LINK: Grammar Lesson 1
Brazilpod | 2023-03-23, 01:00:56 AM