This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the B1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.
You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.
After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.
I will keep you updated on upcoming course seasons
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A2 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1 level.
If you have just started your learning journey, you may find this course too challenging. Consider enrolling for the Clean Slate A0 instead (if available).
This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A1 or A2 course?
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, as – are the equivalent of “the” in English and we use them to designate specific nouns. The Portuguese indefinite articles on the other hand – um, uma, uns, umas – correspond to the English article “a/an” and we use them to introduce and designate non-specific nouns.
But there’s more to it, of course. Read on.
Portuguese definite articles are the equivalent of “the” in English. We use them to designate specific nouns with which they agree in gender and number:
| ♀ | ♂ | |
| singular | a (a flor) | o (o jardim) |
| plural | as (as flores) | os (os jardins) |
In general, definite articles designate specific things and living beings:
| Eu não gosto muito de gatos, mas o teu gato é simplesmente irresistível. I am not so keen on cats, but your cat is simply irresistible. |
! One difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese is that the latter standard often skips definite articles. Learn more about how these two standards of Portuguese compare: European vs. Brazilian Portuguese – How Different Are They Really?
As a rule of thumb, we use the definite article when referring to people:
| Ontem vi a Joana. Yesterday, I saw Joana. O Pedro pareceu-me um pouco triste. Pedro looked a bit sad. |
Also with titles and formal forms of address:
| A senhora sente-se bem? Do you feel alright? O Sr.* Silva vai querer um café? Would Mr. Silva like a cup of coffee? |
* Sr. is an abbreviation for “senhor” and corresponds to Mr.
In general, we use the definite article when mentioning continents and countries:
| A Europa pode ser vista como uma península asiática. Europe can be seen as an Asiatic peninsula. A Suécia tem muitos lagos. Sweden has many lakes. O Brasil é o país com mais falantes nativos de Português. Brazil is the country with the highest number of Portuguese native speakers. |
There are, however, a few exceptions. For instance, we don’t use the definite article with countries like Portugal, Angola, or Moçambique:
| Portugal fica na Europa. Portugal is in Europe. |
With countries such as Inglaterra, França, or Itália, the use of the definite article is optional.
| A França tem vinhos de qualidade. = França tem vinhos de qualidade. There are quality wines in France. |
We use definite articles to refer to the days of the week:
| O meu dia preferido é o sábado. My favorite day is Saturday. |
Normally, possessive pronouns and adjectives are preceded by a definite article:
| Comprei o meu carro em segunda mão. I bought my car secondhand. |
Reading tips: Learn more about Portuguese possessives: Portuguese Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives.
We often leave out the definite article when referring to well-known people and public figures:
| Luís de Camões é um símbolo nacional. Luís de Camões is a national symbol. |
We don’t use definite articles when we say someone’s name to call their attention (vocatives):
| Pedro, queres tomar um chá? Pedro, do you want some tea? |
In general, we leave out the definite article when referring to cities:
| Aveiro é uma cidade universitária. Aveiro has a university. Paris é uma cidade cara. Paris is an expensive city. |
There are a few exceptions like the city of Porto or Rio de Janeiro:
| O Porto fica no norte de Portugal. Porto is in the north of Portugal. |
We don’t use the definite article in association with a few verbs such as estudar, falar, or tocar:
| Ela estuda Biologia. She studies biology. Tocas guitarra? Do you play the guitar? |
We often leave out the definite article when making generalizations:
| Adoro fazer desporto. I love doing sports. |
Here’re are the contractions between the definite articles and the prepositions em, de, a, and, por:
| a | o | as | os | |
| em | na | no | nas | nos |
| de | da | do | das | dos |
| a | à | ao | às | aos |
| por | pela | pelo | pelas | pelos |
Reading tips! Learn more about Portuguese prepositions: Basic Portuguese Prepositions and Contractions: An Inclusive Usage Rundown.
Portuguese indefinite articles correspond to the English forms “a”, “an”, and “some”.
We use them to introduce and designate non-specific nouns with which they agree in gender and number:
| ♀ | ♂ | |
| singular | uma | um |
| plural | umas | uns |
In general, we use indefinite articles to designate non-specific things and living beings:
| Ontem encontrei-me com um amigo meu. Yesterday I met a friend of mine. |
If we specify which friend, we then use the definite article:
| Ontem encontrei-me com o Luís. Yesterday I met Luís. |
Note! Although umas/uns are, in theory, plural forms of the indefinite article, in practice we don’t use them to designate plural nouns:
| [singular] Ontem ouvi uma história interessante. Yesterday I heard an interesting story. [plural (no article)] Ontem ouvi histórias interessantes. Yesterday I heard interesting stories. |
Instead, we use umas/uns to mean “some”:
| Ontem ouvi umas histórias interessantes. Yesterday I heard some interesting stories. |
Let’s now look at a few other contexts where we use the indefinite article.
We use the indefinite article when comparing someone to a well-known personality or entity:
| Tu não és propriamente um santo! You are not exactly a saint! |
We also use the indefinite article to designate someone we don’t know very well (distance implied):
| Hoje recebi uma chamada de um Jorge Amadeu. Today I got a call from someone called Jorge Amadeu. |
We use the indefinite article when referring to famous artists’ artworks (usually painters):
| O Mário comprou um Picasso. Custou-lhe uma fortuna. Mário bought a Picasso. It cost him a fortune. |
We use the indefinite article – specifically the plural forms umas/uns – to mean “about” or “such”:
| Hoje vi uns 15 golfinhos. Today I saw about 15 dolphins. Vens cá com umas idiotices! You come up with such nonsense! |
We usually leave out the infinitive article when referring to profession, rank, or nationality:
| O meu primo é marinheiro. My cousin is a sailor. O João é tenente coronel. João is a lieutenant colonel. A Pernilla é dinamarquesa. Pernilla is Danish. |
However, we use the infinitive article when we use modifiers:
| O meu primo é um excelente marinheiro. My cousin is an excellent sailor. O João é um tenente coronel exigente. João is an uncompromising lieutenant colonel. A Pernilla é uma dinamarquesa típica. Pernilla is a typical Danish woman. |
The indefinite articles will only contract with the prepositions em and de:
| uma | um | umas | uns | |
| em | numa | num | numas | nuns |
| de | duma | dum | dumas | duns |
Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense
Stay tuned for upcoming online courses and other learning materials.