Portuguese Question Words
Intrepid language learners start using Portuguese nearly from day one. I love the attitude and hope you are one of them. Besides bravery, to keep conversations going…
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 Prepositions and Contractions
In general, prepositions have an infamous reputation among language learners. Judging by all the whining and moaning I’ve heard from students throughout the years, Portuguese prepositions are…
Portuguese Past Subjunctive (Imperfeito do Conjuntivo)
The Subjunctive mood is often a source of much whining and moaning among Portuguese language learners – so many conjugations one must keep track of! We have…
Personal Infinitive in Portuguese (Infinitivo Pessoal)
The Personal Infinitive (Infinitivo Pessoal) is unique to Portuguese and commonplace. There’s no parallel in other languages and learners of Portuguese often struggle to wrap their heads…
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 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.…
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…
Portuguese Word Stress and Accent Marks
If you care about Portuguese pronunciation and want to get good at it, you’ll need to come to grips with its word stress patterns. That’s it. Here’s…
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…
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 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…