This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1level. The language of instruction is Portuguese. I will speak in English only if needed.
Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon. The language of instruction is almost entirely in English.
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.
Any questions?
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Beginners A2
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level. The language of instruction is English/Portuguese, typically in a 35/65 ratio.
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1level. The language of instruction is English/Portuguese, typically in a 70/30 ratio.
If you've just started your learning journey, it may be that you will find this course a bit challenging. Nothing wrong with that.
However, if you think you'd have trouble coping with a challenging learning environment, 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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The passive voice – as opposed to the active voice – highlights the recipient that is acted upon by the agent of the verb.
Accordingly, the recipient of the action (be it a person or thing) becomes the subject of the sentence, and is thus under the spotlight, whereas the active performer is relegated to second place.
Let’s see what the passive voice looks like in Portuguese.
Portuguese passive-voice vs. active-voice sentences
In Portuguese, passive-voice sentences comprise the auxiliary verb ser – either in the present, past, or future tense – followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Let’s take an example where we compare active and passive voice constructions:
Active voice main verb (fazer) O Paulo fez um telefonema. Paulo made a phone call.
Passive voice aux. verb (ser) > main verb (fazer) Um telefonema foi feito pelo Paulo. A phone call was made by Paulo.
As you can see above, in the active-voice sentence, Paulo is the subject and the agent who makes a phone call (the action).
In the passive-voice sentence, on the other hand, the phone call itself becomes the grammatical subject of the sentence and Paulo the passive agent (and no longer the active performer).
Again, the passive-voice implies a compound verb structure where the auxiliary verb ser is followed by the main verb (fazer in the example above) in the past participle.
Auxiliary verb – ser indicates the tense
By default, the auxiliary verb – ser – sets the tense of the passive-voice sentence. Here’s the verb ser conjugated in the present, past, and future tenses:
As you’ll see in the usage examples below, passive-voice sentences using progressive tenses call to auxiliary compound verb structures with both estar and ser. In that case, estar – not ser – will set the tense of the sentence.
In passive-voice sentences, the main verb always comes in the past-participle form.
Regular participles
It is simple to form the past participle. We just need to replace the infinitive forms’ endings –ar, -er, and -irwith either –ado or –ido according to the table below:
1st conjugation group -ar → -ado
2nd conjugation group -er → ido
3rd conjugation group -ir → ido
Chamar call
Comer eat
Partir depart
chamado
comido
partido
Irregular participles
A few verbs have irregular past participles:
Infinitive form
Past participle
abrir (open)
aberto
cobrir (cover)
coberto
dizer (say)
dito
escrever (write)
escrito
fazer (do)
feito
pagar (pay)
pago
ver (see)
visto
vir (come)
vindo
pôr (put)
posto
Shifting participles
Finally, some verbs have two past participle forms, one conforming to the regular pattern we’ve seen above, and another that is irregular.
While the regular form is used in compound verb structures with the auxiliary verbs ter/haver, the irregular one is used with ser/estar.
In other words, the irregular alternative is the form to be used in passive-voice sentences.
Here are a few examples of verbs with shifting participles:
Regular participle ter/haver
Irregular participle ser/estar
aceitar (accept)
aceitado
aceite
entregar (deliver)
entregado
entregue
matar (kill)
matado
morto
salvar (save)
salvado
salvo
acender (light)
acendido
aceso
eleger (elect)
elegido
eleito
morrer (die)
morrido
morto
prender (arrest)
prendido
preso
exprimir (express)
exprimido
expresso
imprimir (print)
imprimido
impresso
Now, one thing to keep in mind is that, in passive-voice sentences, the past participle will comply with the sentence’s subject’s number and gender.
That’s done according to basic declension patterns in Portuguese – o, a, os, as.
Take for instance the verb cozer and its past participle cozido. Here are its endings according to the subject’s number and gender it refers to:
masculine
feminine
singular
cozido
cozida
plural
cozidos
cozidas
It works the same way for all participles irrespective of if they belong to regular, irregular, or shifting groups.
Now that you have a good understanding of the verb forms involved in passive-voice sentences, it is time to look into a few usage examples for each of the three tenses: present, past, and future.
Present
For the present tense, I will be using verbs with regular participles.
ser (present) > encontrar, catalogar (past part.) Todos os anos, novas espécies animais são encontradas e catalogadas. Each year, new animal species are found and cataloged.
ser (present) > apanhar (past part.) O Carlosé sempre apanhado de surpresa. Carlos is always caught by surprise.
Here’s another example using the present continuous as an auxiliary.
As you may know, progressive tenses always call to the verb estar and the auxiliary verb will now be a compound structure with estar followed by ser (the former sets the tense).
Also, keep in mind that progressive tenses look slightly different in European and Brazilian Portuguese.
[PT-PT] estar (presente) + a + ser (inf.) > considerar (past part.) Essa possibilidadeestá atualmente a serconsiderada. That possibility is being considered at the moment.
[PT-BR] estar (presente) + ser (gerund) > considerar (past participle)
Essa possibilidadeestá atualmente sendoconsiderada. That possibility is being considered at the moment.
For the past tense, I am using verbs with irregular participles.
ser (preterite) > escrever (past part.) Os Lusíadasforamescritosno século XVI. Lusíadas was written in the 16th century.
ser (preterite) + pagar (past part.) As contas do mês passado forampagas ontem. Last month’s bills were paid yesterday.
Let’s now use the Portuguese equivalent of the past continuous as an auxiliary. Again, the European and Brazilian Portuguese will look slightly different:
[PT-PT] estar (imperfect) + a + ser (inf.) > ver (past part.) A Raquel estava a ser vista pela médica quando o seu telefone tocou. Raquel was being examined by the doctor when her phone rang.
[PT-BR] estar (imperfect) + ser (gerund) > considerar (past part.) A Raquel estava sendo vista pela médica quando o seu telefone tocou. Raquel was being examined by the doctor when her phone rang.
Finally, to exemplify the future tense, I will be using verbs with shifting past participles.
ser (future) > eleger (past part.) O novo primeiro-ministro será eleito dentro de uma semana. Our new prime minister will be elected in one week.
ser (future) + prender (past part.) O livro seráimpresso no próximo mês. The book is going to be printed next month.
We often express the future tense with the auxiliary verb ir. In that case, our auxiliary verb becomes a compound structure consisting of ir conjugated in the present tense and followed by ser in the infinitive:
ir (present) + ser (inf.) > eleger (past part.) O novo primeiro-ministro vaiser eleito dentro de uma semana. The new prime minister will be elected in one week.
ir (present) + ser (inf.) > imprimir (past part.) O livro vai ser impresso no próximo mês. The book is going to be printed next month.