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.
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Beginners A2
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1level.
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).
There are plenty of interesting options for our accommodation. It will most likely be a countryside house near Tavira.
I haven't booked it yet because I want to get a better idea of the group's composition (how many couples/singles) and your preferences before I do so. That will for instance help me understand how big a house we might need.
I look forward to soon talking to you about this and much more. Até breve, p
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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 choppiness of several short sentences, conjunctions (aka linking words) allow us to express multiple ideas in elegant ways by sewing words, phrases, or clauses together.
A few examples of Portuguese conjunctions are e, ou, mas, porque, quando, and se, among many others. Here’s a sentence containing some of these words:
Eu gosto de arroz e batatas, mas a Joana não aprecia nem um nem outro. I like rice and potatoes, but Joana prefers neither one nor the other.
In what follows, I will walk you through different categories of Portuguese conjunctions. I will keep Portuguese and English conjunctions side by side so that you can easily follow along.
Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses of identical grammatical rank in a sentence. Here’s an example of the latter:
Eu pinto uma paisagem e ela toca guitarra. I paint a landscape and she plays guitar.
Notice that the clauses above are independent of each other and can therefore stand alone:
Eu pinto uma paisagem. Ela toca guitarra. I paint a landscape. She plays guitar.
There are different kinds of coordinating conjunctions. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Copulative
Copulative conjunctions add up words, phrases, or independent clauses.
Conjunction
Usage example
e and
A Cristina é alta e morena. Cristina is tall and brunette.
bem como, assim como as well as
O Pedro assim como o Miguel gostam de matemática. Pedro as well as Miguel likes math.
tanto . . . como, quer . . . quer both . . . and
Tanto eu como a Daniela somos músicos. Both Daniela and I are musicians.
não só . . . mas também not only . . . but also
Gosto não só do Brasil mas também de todos os outros países da América Latina. I like not only Brazil but also all the other countries in Latin America.
nem . . . nem neither . . . nor
Eu não tenho nem tempo nem paciência para isto. I have neither time nor patience for this.
Adversative
Adversative conjunctions express a contrast between two ideas or statements.
Conjunction
Usage example
mas but, though
Gosto de viajar, mas raramente o faço. I like to travel, but I do it seldom.
porém, todavia, contudo however, yet, nevertheless
O Mário esteve em Lisboa, contudo não me visitou. Mário was in Lisbon, yet he didn’t come to see me.
enquanto que whereas
Tu gostas de jazz enquanto que eu prefiro música clássica. You like jazz whereas I prefer classical music.
Ou estudas ou trabalhas. Decide-te! Either you study or you work. Just make up your mind!
quer . . . quer não whether . . . or not
Quer aceites quernão, ele não vai mudar de ideias. Whether you accept it or not, he won’t change his mind.
Conclusive
Conclusive conjunctions introduce a consequence or conclusion to the previously expressed idea.
Conjunction
Usage example
portanto, logo, por isso therefore, thus, so
Eu gosto de música ao vivo, por isso vou a concertos com frequência. I like live music, so I often go to concerts.
Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions link dependent clauses to independent clauses – a dependent clause, unlike an independent clause, can’t stand alone as its own sentence.
There are different types of subordinating conjunctions. Let’s take a peek at them.