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My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:

  • perfeito vs. imperfeito / subjunctive mood intro
  • reading and listening comprehension
  • conversation

*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:

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Clean Slate A0

Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.

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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.

Portuguese short story for beginners - de maos dadas - Portuguesepedia
Easy Reads for Portuguese Lanugage Learners - Entre a Felicidade e a Tristeza - by Portuguesepedia

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Beginners A2

This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.

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My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:

  • prepositions
  • past tense: perfeito vs. imperfeito
  • listening comprehension and conversation

*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?

Take this placement test

Beginners A1

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).

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This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):

  • pronunciation
  • listening comprehension
  • reading comprehension
  • conversation
  • grammar

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?

Take this placement test

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.

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the portuguese verb ter - portuguesepedia
the portuguese verb ter - portuguesepedia

The Verb Ter in Portuguese

In short, the verb ter is the Portuguese equivalent of have as both share the same basic meaning and are used to form perfect tenses:

Tenho 3 filhos.
I have 3 kids.

Ela já tinha estado no Canadá.
She had already been to Canada.

Here’s what its conjugation looks like in the Present and Past tenses (irregular conjugation):

Present
Presente		Preterite
Pretérito perfeito		Imperfect
Pretérito imperfeito
Eutenhotivetinha
Tutenstivestetinhas
Você
Ele, ela		temtevetinha
Nóstemostivemostínhamos
Vocês

Eles, elas		têmtiveramtinham

Now, being an idiomatically rich verb, Ter’s usage goes well beyond the above-stated. I encourage you to dive into the usage of this and other Portuguese verb relics in my course Portuguese Verb Gems. 

Reading tips: Learn more about other frequently used Portuguese irregular verbs: Portuguese Irregular Verbs Students Need to Learn as Soon as Possible.

Conjugation  

Ter is one of the most commonly used verbs and, as is the case with several other high-frequency verbs, it has an irregular conjugation:   

Present
Presente		Preterite
Pretérito perfeito		Imperfect
Pretérito imperfeito
Eutenhotivetinha
Tutenstivestetinhas
Você
Ele, ela		temtevetinha
Nóstemostivemostínhamos
Vocês

Eles, elas		têmtiveramtinham

Usage that you’d expect

Expressing possession

As already mentioned, ter shares the same basic meaning of have:

Tenho 3 filhos.
I have 3 kids.

Eles têm muito tempo livre.
They have a lot of free time.

Forming perfect tenses

Like have, ter is used as an auxiliary verb to form perfect tenses*:

Ela já tinha estado no Canadá.
She had already been to Canada.

* It is also possible to form perfect tenses with haver, which is also a cornerstone verb in Portuguese: Verb ‘Haver’ in Portuguese.

Expressing a must

The phrase ter de is the Portuguese equivalent of have to, which expresses a must: 

Tens de parar de beber se quiseres salvar o teu casamento.
You have to stop drinking if you are to save your marriage.

Usage that might surprise you

Talking about age

We use ter in contexts where English call to other verbs other than have. For instance, when talking about age:

Ela tem 42 anos.
She’s 44 years old.

Que idade tem o Ricardo?
How old is Ricardo?

Expressing physiological states

Unlike English, we use ter to talk about physiological states. In that case, the verb is followed by a noun:

– Tens calor?
– O oposto, tenho frio.

– Are you hot?
– On the contrary, I am cold.
– Tens fome?
– Sim, tenho fome e sede.

– Are you hungry?
– Yes, I am hungry and thirsty.

Go and meet someone

Distinctively enough, it is quite common to hear the structure ir/vir + ter + com in contexts where people arrange meet-ups or refer to past meetings. 

Here’s an example where two people try to fix a meeting:

– A que horas podes vir ter comigo?
– Posso ir ter contigo depois das 17h.

– What time can we meet?
– We can meet after 5 pm.

Here’s another example where someone talks about another person she met on that day:

Hoje fui ter com a Paula e tomamos um café.
Today I met Paula and we went for a coffee.

A few idiomatic expressions with ter

Let’s conclude this post with some idiomatic gloss. Here’re a few popular idioms with ter in them:

1ter jeito paraEle tem jeito para o piano.
He’s got a knack for playing the piano.
2ter muito que se lhe digaEste tema tem muito que se lhe diga.
This topic is quite complex.
3ter lataÉ preciso ter lata!
You’ve got to have a lot of nerve!
4ter pintaEla tem pinta!
She is stylish!
5ter penaTenho pena!
I’m sorry!
6ter paciênciaTem paciência!
Be patient!
7ter hipóteseNão tens hipótese nenhuma!
You don’t stand a chance!
8ter a ver comNão tem nada a ver com isso.
It has nothing to do with that.
9ter à vontadeEla tem muito à vontade em falar em público.
She feels very comfortable speaking in public. 
10ter os seus quêsIsto tem os seus quês…
This is not that simple… 

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