The Difference Between “Ser” and “Estar” in Brazilian Portuguese

The fact that there are two words in Portuguese that mean “to be”, ser and estar, can baffle some English speakers at first. How am I supposed to know the difference? you may wonder. First off, don’t get aggravated about it because every language has its own special characteristics that don’t seem reasonable. After all languages are not exact sciences. Therefore, here are some tips on how to differentiate ser and estar but again they’re not written in stone.

Ser indicates permanent situations, as in the following examples.

• sou brasileiro / sou brasileira – I am Brazilian
• ele é enfermeiro – he is a nurse.
• são muito inteligentes – they are very smart

Ser is used to identify someone or ones self, for professions and nationalities/origin, personality and physical traits, possession, time (São duas da tarde – It’s 2PM), and impersonal expressions (É bom viajar – It’s good to travel)

Estar, on the other hand, describes temporary conditions.

• estou com frio – I am cold
• ela está doente – she is sick
• estamos atrasados – we are late

Estar is used for location, emotions and temporary physical states, and with the progressive tenses (estou comendo – i’m eating).

Pay attention to the nuances:

Eduardo é doente – Eduardo is a sick man (maybe mentally sick in a crazy way, or he has had a persistent disease for all his life

VS.

Eduardo está doente – Eduardo is sick (now, he caught a cold or something)

Sou optimista – I’m optimistic (it’s my nature)

VS.

Estou optimista – I’m optimistic (right now, about a particular thing situation)

ALSO:

In Brazilian Portuguese, the word “estou” is very often shortened to just tô, and the word “esta” becomes tá.” In this blog, I will often give examples in written sentences where I use the shortened forms tô and tá just because it sounds more natural to me.

So, if you’d like to sound as a Brazilian, follow this table (the second column is the correct grammar, the third column is the way we speak) :

eu	estou	tô
vocêele/ela a gente	está	tá
nós	estamos	tamos
vocêseles/elas	estão	tão

Examples:

• Como você tá? – How are you?
• O que Francisco tá fazendo? – What is Francisco doing?
• Tá Ligado?
  

Common Mistakes: Paulista Vs. Paulistano

What is the difference between a “Paulista” and a “Paulistano”?

-A Paulista is a native or inhabitant of the state of São Paulo.

-A Paulistano is a native or inhabitant of the city of São Paulo.

Brazilian Portuguese: Bem Vs. Bom

Since much of Portuguese Blog is aimed at intermediate and advanced learners, I thought we’d do a post to help some of our readers who are just starting to study Portuguese. Still, this particular tip should be useful for everyone, since I’ve noticed this is a common mistake.

Bem vs. Bom

It’s important to remember that bem, which means fine or well, can be used as an adverb or adjective, whereas bom, which means good, can be used as a noun or an adjective. Since they can both be used as adjectives, it can get a little confusing. Let’s take a look at some examples to see when to use bem and when to use bom.

Correct: Eu não sinto muito bem. I don’t feel very well.

Incorrect: Eu não sinto muito bom.

Here, you use bem as an adjective to describe how you feel. This is a key one to remember, since you use it frequently in conversation:

Como você está? How are you?

Estou bem, e você? I’m fine, and you?

You would never say “Estou bom” or “Estou boa” in response to “How are you?

Correct: A comida é muito boa. The food is very good.

Incorrect: A comida é muito bem.

In this case, you need an adjective that means good, so you need bom (or boa).

Correct: Ela canta bem. She sings well.

Incorrect: Ela canta bom.

Here, you need a word to describe the verb (an adverb), so you know you’ll need bem.

Correct: O bom é que não precisa de visto. The good thing is that you don’t need a visa.

Incorrect: O bem é que não precisa de visto.

Here you need a noun, so you know you’ll need bom.

Do you have trouble distinguishing between bom and bem? What are some cases you find difficult to remember?

 

To Bring / To Take – Levar Vs. Trazer

In Portuguese, the verbs levar and trazer may be confusing to some people. Levar (to take) is used to indicate a movement away from the speaker or the place where the speaker is at the moment of speaking while trazer (to bring) is used to indicate a movement toward the speaker or the place where the speaker is at the moment of speaking. If used to indicate a movement, levar (to take) is followed by the preposition lá/ali (there) while trazer (to bring) is followed by the preposition aqui (here). The preposition is often omitted, but try to use it at least mentally in order to make it easier to distinguish both and not misuse them. Another note, if you are talking about bringing or taking a person somewhere, use levar and not trazer. Levar is used to talk about human beings.

Examples:

“eu vou levar o computador lá.” – “i’m going to take the computer there.”

“ela vai trazer o celular aqui.” – “she’s going to bring the cell phone here.

“levei o dinheiro lá para pagar a conta.” – “i took the money there to pay the bill.”

“foi ele que trouxe a roupa suja aqui.” – “he was the one who brought the dirty clothes here.”

“eu levei o bolo para a festa.” – “i took the cake to the party.”

“minha tia trouxe a feijoada para a minha festa.” – “my aunt brought feijoada to my party.”

“vou levar um presente para meu amigo no Brasil. Quando ele vier aos Estados Unidos, ele vai trazer um presente para mim.” – “i’m going to take a present to my friend in Brazil. When he comes to the US, he’s going to bring me a present.”

Brazilian Portuguese & English False Cognates

False Cognates (called falsos cognatos in Portuguese) are basically words which look and maybe sound like words in English but actually have a different meaning. An example – you’ve just arrived in Brazil and are walking around Rio. You’re hungry and see a small restaurant which has “lanche” in the window. You assume this means lunch and walk in and try to order to meal. Here you’ve fallen victim to the false cognate “lanche” which doesn’t mean lunch, it means snack!

Here is a list of some false cognates that I have come across, please feel free to email me if you know of more and I will add them to the list!

compromisso – looks like compromise, but really means “comittment”. (and the word “comprometido” means that you are in a relationship, or “committed”).

cobra – you might think this word is referring to a cobra snake, when really “cobra” is actually the Portuguese word for snake, all snakes.

desgraça – this is a very strong word in portuguese, while it looks like the english word “disgrace,” this is not the appropriate translation. Rather it is used to refer to things that are really abhorrent such as major tragedies or misfortunes. To call someone a desgraça is a HUGE insult.

educado – this Portuguese adjective looks like it means “educated” but it really means “polite” or “well-raised”. To describe someone as being educated in Portuguese, say: “ele tem estudo” literally meaning: “he has study,” and translates to “he is educated.”

esperto – while this word looks like it means “expert,” it really means clever, sly or intelligent in a savvy way.

local – does not mean “local.” In Portuguese this is a noun that means “place,” as in a location.

atualmente – looks like “actually,” but really means “currently,” “nowadays” or “at the moment”. (To say “actually” in Brazilian Portuguese, say: “na verdade”).

parentes – does NOT mean “parents,” it means “relatives.” The Portuguese word for “parents” is “pais.”

pretender – this verb does not mean “to pretend,” it really means “to intend” or “to plan (to do something).”

puxar – ironically, while this Portuguese verb looks like it means “to push,” and is commonly written on doors in Brazil, its true meaning is “to pull.” The Portugues word for “to push” is empurrar.

rato – this is the Portuguese word for a rat, but also for a “mouse.”

propaganda – in Portuguese, this is the word for advertisement! It does not refer to the English word ‘propaganda.

advertência – similarly, this word does NOT mean “advertisement”! The word advertência actually means “warning” in Portuguese. In order to say advertisement, use either anúncio or propaganda

“fazer questão” – this phrase looks like it should mean “to make a question,” but what it really means is “to insist on/upon something”.

graduação – looks like “graduation,” but really refers to a college or university major. For school graduations in Brazilian Portuguese, say “formatura.”

carona – this took me forever to figure out and I have no idea why. So, even though this word is the name of a popular Mexican beer, in Brazilian Portuguese, it means “ride,” as in to get a ride from someone, or to give a ride “dar uma carona” to someone.

*I will do my best to keep updating this list, but if you know of any Portuguese false cognates that you do not see here, please comment on this post or email me at portugueseblogger@gmail.com. Thanks!

Portuguese Grammar Lessons – Prepositions – “Por” Vs. “Para”

If you’re like me you’ve probably found yourself stuck when speaking Portuguese trying to work out if the correct preposition is ´por´ or ´para´. The problem is, especially with por, that there are no single English equivalents. But, before we get to annoyed, we’d do well to remember that English prepositions are even more bountiful and confusing. (for example: the subtle differences between – good at, good with, good to, good for).

In terms of choosing which preposition to use – ‘por’ or ‘para’ – there are some guidelines that work most of the time, but you’ll still encounter the occasional blip or anomaly that doesn’t seem to make sense… you’ll just have to accept language is like that sometimes.

It is important to remember from the outset that por forms a contraction with the indefinite article in front of it. por + a = “pela”, por + o = “pelo”. VERY OFTEN, para is shortened to either para + a = pra, or para + o = pro.

Uses of por:
“On behalf of…”, “on account of…”:
“eu pago a conta por você” – “i’ll pay the bill for you.”
“pela amor de Deus!” – “for the love of God!”

“In exchange for…”:
“troco este casaco pelo seu chapéu” – “i’ll give you this coat for your hat”

In expressions of time for duration, frequency and as a marker:
“eles vieram por duas semanas” – they came for two weeks.”
“ele vai a Paris duas vezes por semana” – “he goes to Paris twice a week/two times per week.”
“pela primeira vez, vi que ela era bonita.” – “for the first time, I noticed she was pretty.”

Meaning by, through, along, via, over:
“vou pela praia.” – “i’m going along the beach”
“está por ai?” – “is it over there/around there?”
“viajo a Portugal por França” – “i travel to Portugal through/via France.”

Uses of para:
Destination:
“eu vou pra casa” – “i’m going home.”
“parabens pra você!” – “congratulations to you!” (this is the first line of the Brazilian “Happy Birthday” song.)
“ele vai pra onde?” – “where’s he going?”

Viewpoint:
“esse trabalho e muito dificil para me.” – this work is very difficult for me.”

Conclusion
To conclude, generally para is more direct and grounded in real things. Por is more indirect and often refers to concepts. Other common examples to illustrate the difference between por and para are:

“escrito por ele” – “written by him” versus “escrito para ele” – “written for him”.
“eu vou orar para Deus por vocês” – “i will pray to God for you.”

As Snoopy says in the cartoon above…
“por outro lado” – “on the other hand,” versus “vá pro outro lado” – “go to the other side.”

*Sources

http://brazilianportuguese.wordpress.com

Grammar Lessons: Nouns and Gender

Brazilian Portuguese Nouns & Gender Lesson

Portuguese Nouns are either Masculine or Feminine. In English, our words don’t have gender and so this will get some getting used to. Fortunately, the gender of most nouns in Brazilian Portuguese is quite predictable. For example, the world for girl, “menina” is obviously going to be feminine (a menina, uma menina, duas meninas). You will also come to realize that many nouns end in –o or –a. So, for the most part, nouns ending in an ‘a’ will be feminine and those ending in an ‘o,’ masculine.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. For example: for weeks I thought that the word in Portuguese for “day,” – dia – was a feminine word. However, I was soon corrected. O Dia is a masculine in Portuguese, other words like cometa, the Portuguese word for “comet” are also masculine. If you are a perfectionist, go ahead and memorize all of these rule-breakers. But my strategy was more trial and error based, I preferred to just follow my –a ending = feminine, -o ending = masculine rule until I got corrected. This allowed me to speak faster and focus on other things like my sentence structure. And not to worry, people will still understand you if you get a gender wrong here or there. But for those of you who wanted a list of nouns that break the rules, I have made one here. Please feel free to e-mail me if you know of any more!

Rules:

 

The Noun is Feminine…:

-if it ends with –a (usually *see list at the bottom for notable exceptions).

-if it ends with –dade. Examples: lealdade – loyalty, liberdade – liberty.

-if it ends with –dão. Example: solidão – lonliness.

-if it ends with –gem. Example: viagem – journey/ trip.

-if it ends with –ise. Example: crise – crisis.

-if it ends with –ite. Example: bronquite – bronchitis.

-if it ends with –são (corresponding with english’s –sion). Example: decisão – decision.

-if it ends with –tude. Example: juventude – youth.

 

The Noun is Masculine…:

-if it ends with –o (usually *see list at the bottom for notable exceptions).

-if it ends with –ão (cidadão – citizen, cartão – card/credit card).

-if et ends with –dor or –tor. Examples: cantor – singer, traidor – traitor.

Exceptions:

-Even though they end in –o, words which end with – ção or –são (corresponding to English nouns ending in –tion/-sion) are feminine! Examples: ação – action, tripulação – crew

-the word mão – hand, is feminine!

-the word tribo – tribe, is feminine!

-Words ending in –o that are abbreviations of longer feminine nouns can be feminine! Example: foto – photo, is feminine, because this word is really an abbreviation of the word “fotografia”. Also, moto – motorcycle is feminine because it comes from “motocicleta” (which nobody says).

-sometimes if a word ends with –ma, it can be masculine. Examples: um dilema – a dilemma,  um sistema – a system, um problema – a problem, pyjama – pyjamas, um alerta – an alert/warning, um mapa – a map, um cometa – a comet, um planeta – a planet, um tapa – a slap, and samba – samba (the Brazilian dance), o clima – the climate.

-Nouns ending in a stressed ‘a’ (á) are at times masculine! Examples:  maracujá – passion fruit, sofá – sofa, tamanduá – anteater, chá – tea.

-Even though it ends in ‘a,’ o Irã – Iran (the country) is masculine!

Another problem is, sometimes, we can get confused about whether a noun is masculine or feminine (ends in an -a or an -o). The ending can make a huge difference in the meaning of a word, so be careful. Examples:

bola – ball, bolo – cake
foca – seal (the animal), foco – focus
tira – cop, tiro – (gun)shot
vaga – space (as in parking space), vago – vague (which is actually an adjective)
verba – financial budget, verbo – verb

Common Mistakes: Not To Be Confused… Degrau, Grau or Grão ?

Degrau, Grau, Grão : These are three similar sounding words that many people mix up when learning Brazilian Portuguese. Especially misleading is that “DEgraus” does not translate to “DEgrees.” But instead, the word for “degrees”, when talking about the weather, is “graus” and “degraus”… it just means stairs.

o degrau(s) – a stair or step (specifically referring to the individual steps that your staircase is made up of)

o grau(s) – the degree (temperature) / grade (of something – i.e. “the degree to which….”)

grão(s) – grain