LESSON NOTES

Absolute Beginner S2 #7
Polite Portuguese Goes a Long Way

CONTENTS

Dialogue - Portuguese
Main
English
Vocabulary
Sample sentences
Vocabulary phrase usage
Grammar
Cultural insight

# 7
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DIALOGUE - PORTUGUESE
MAIN

1. Tiago : Droga! O supermercado tá fechado.

2. Michael : Não tem um outro perto daqui?

3. Tiago : Não sei. Não conheço este bairro.

4. Renata : Vamos perguntar àquela mulher ali.

5. Tiago : Vamos lá.

6. Renata : Com licença, a senhora sabe dizer onde tem outro supermercado por aqui?

7. Senhora : Sei sim. Segue em frente e dobra na terceira rua à esquerda. O supermercado fica na
sua direita.

8. Renata : Obrigada!

ENGLISH

1. Tiago : Man! The supermarket is closed.

2. Michael : Isn't there another one near here?

3. Tiago : I don't know. I’m unfamiliar with this neighborhood.

4. Renata : Let's ask that woman there.

5. Tiago : Go for it.

6. Renata : Excuse me ma'am, could you tell us where there is another supermarket around here?

7. Ma’am : Yes, I do. Go straight and turn left at the third road. The supermarket is on your right.

8. Renata : Thank you!

VOCABULARY

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Portuguese English Class Gender

com (Brazilian) with preposition

de (Brazilian) of, from preposition

entre (Brazilian) between phrase

para (Brazilian) to, for preposition

sem without preposition

a (Brazilian) to preposition

desde since preposition

frente front noun feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Posso ir com você? Com licença.

"May I go with you?" "Excuse me."

Com licença, posso passar? Este é meu livro de receitas.

"Excuse me, may I pass by you?" "This is my recipe book."

De onde você é? O salão de beleza fica entre a cafeteria e o pet

shop.
"Where are you from?"
"The beauty shop is between the coffee shop
and the pet store."

O lápis está entre o livro e o computador. Este presente é para você.

"The pencil is between the book and the "This present is for you."
computer."

A passagem para Rio Branco é sessenta reais. Um café sem açúcar, por favor.

"The ticket to Rio Branco is sixty reals." "A coffee without sugar, please."

Agradeço a todos pela presença. Você me convenceu a ficar.

"Thank you all for coming." "You convinced me to stay."

Moro aqui desde 2005. Segue em frente.

"I have lived here since 2005." "Go straight."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

droga!

The first expression we'll look at in this lesson is droga! Droga! literally means, "drug," but it is an
exclamation that is used in the same way as "Shoot!" or "Man!" This exclamation is frequently used in
everyday Portuguese, but it's not used in formal conversations.

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vai lá

The next phrase we'll look at is vai lá. In the dialogue, Thiago used the phrase vai lá, which literally
translates to, "go there," to mean, "go ahead," or "go for it." This a good way to show support or to
encourage someone.

segue em frente and sempre em frente

segue em frente and sempre em frente literally translate to, "follow in front" and "always in front,"
respectively, but they both mean, "go straight ahead" or "go along this street." You will probably hear
either of these phrases when asking directions.

GRAMMAR
The focus of this lesson is prepositions and prepositional phrases.
Segue em frente e dobra na terceira rua à esquerda.
"Go straight and turn left at the third road."

Prepositions are words that describe how words in a sentence relate to each other. They may show
location (in Arizona), possession (of Michael), time (at six), manner (by car), agent (by Renata), or any
number of other relationships.

"English" Portuguese

"in," "on," "at" em

"with" com

"of," "from" de

"to the" à

"between," "among" entre

"to," "for" para

"for," "to" por

"without" sem

"under" sob

"above" sobre

Prepositional Phrases

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"At school" is called a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase is made up of two parts: a
preposition and an object of the preposition. The object of the preposition is a noun that in some way
relates to a word in the sentence and is always preceded by a preposition. ("pre-position").

Examples from this dialog:

1. em frente - "in front"

2. à esquerda - "to the left"

Language Tip

Some verbs always have specific prepositions attached to them.

1.    gostar de - always needs "de"
2.    precisar de - when followed by a noun, needs "de." When followed by a verb, only the verb in
infinitive is necessary.
3.    entrar em - In English we say "they entered the room," in Portuguese it's said, "entraram na sala"
(remember that na=em+a)

CULTURAL INSIGHT
Abordar

Brazilians are usually very nice and very positive, and if you are in a situation like that, don't be afraid to
ask for directions. They won't think you're crazy. But do be careful because the person you're talking to
might not actually know the area very well.
It is very important to use the phrase com licença, which means, "excuse me," when approaching
someone on the street. Muggings are common in Brazil so it's important to smile and be polite so they
feel more relaxed.
 

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