Portuguese Verbs Ser vs. Estar: How and When to Use Either
In Portuguese, there are two To Be verbs: Ser and Estar. Not fully understanding their differences, language learners will often hesitate between using one or the other.…
Gender of Portuguese Words
Like other Romance languages, Portuguese nouns are gender-marked as masculine or feminine. This gender dimension in Portuguese extends nonetheless well beyond nouns. For instance, word classes such…
Portuguese Perfect vs. Imperfect Tense: Know When to Use Either
The Portuguese Perfect and Imperfect past tenses (aka Pretérito Perfeito and Pretérito Imperfeito in Portuguese) are often a headache for language learners whose native tongue doesn’t make…
Portuguese Spelling Reform
In 1990, various Portuguese-speaking countries agreed on a spelling reform to create and maintain a cohesive, international standard across borders. In Portugal, in particular, the spelling reform came…
The Portuguese Verb Haver
If you’ve been learning Portuguese for a while, you’ve probably noticed that little word há popping up everywhere. Indeed, há is a verb form of Haver, which…
Speaking Portuguese with Confidence
Achieving fluency in Portuguese, arguably anyone’s ultimate goal, can feel daunting. Many learners believe immersion in a Portuguese-speaking country is the only path to mastery. But fear…
Portuguese Object Pronouns
Little words like lhe, te, or nos often surround Portuguese verbs. Those are object pronouns just like him, you or us in English. Simply put, object pronouns…
Portuguese Conjunctions – All You Need to Know
Without conjunctions, we would sound rather clumsy and inarticulate: I like apples. I like pears. I don’t like bananas. No one speaks like that. In avoiding the…
Portuguese Modal Verbs
Modal verbs help us convey things like necessity, possibility, certainty, doubt, and ability. We use them all the time. You’d agree that the English sentences You must…
Here’s Why Portuguese Sounds like Russian
I often hear people saying that Portuguese sounds like Russian! What is so striking about that comment is that Portuguese and Russian are relatively distant languages –…
Portuguese Definite and Indefinite Articles – How and When to Use Them
Most languages do well without articles. In this sense, English and Romance languages like Portuguese belong to a minority. The Portuguese definite articles – o, a, os,…
Portuguese Possessive Pronouns and Determiners
Portuguese possessive pronouns and determiners indicate possession. In English, these are words like my, your, his, her, our, their (possessive determiners) and mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (possessive pronouns). Possessive pronouns and determiners…
The Imperative in Portuguese
Like other Romance languages, Portuguese has an abundance of verb forms. Adding to the pile is the Imperative mood. We use the Imperative to give instructions and commands,…
Portuguese Present Subjunctive (Presente Conjuntivo)
The use of the Subjunctive in Portuguese (Conjuntivo) is way more frequent than in English. That alone can be a stumbling block for many language learners as…
Master European Portuguese Pronunciation: Essential Guide for Beginners and Beyond
I often hear people say that Portuguese sounds different from other Romance languages. And that’s because it’s true! So, what is so special about European Portuguese pronunciation?…
Portuguese Future Subjunctive (Futuro do Conjuntivo) – Conjugation and Usage
If you have been learning Portuguese long enough, you know that sooner or later you’ve got to come to grips with the Future Subjunctive (Futuro do Conjuntivo).…
Portuguese vs. Spanish: How Similar Are They Actually?
Portuguese and Spanish are Romance languages that share a common root: they both stem from Vulgar Latin. But how similar are they? Portuguese and Spanish are different…
Portuguese Connected Speech for Enhanced Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension
It is often challenging to keep up with Portuguese native speakers, even for advanced learners. This is probably not because you don’t know the words they’re saying,…