No supermercado

O tema esta semana é O tema esta semana é No Supermercado - The theme this week is In the Supermarket

carrinho de compras - trolley
balança - scales
caixa - cashier (pessoa) or check-out counter (local)
o corredor - the aisle
a prateleira - the shelf
produto - product
desconto - discount
recibo - receipt
cesta de compras - shopping basket
pagamento - payment

Here’s a link to a Quizlet set with the words for you to play about with. 

If you would like to join one of the weekly chat groups - we run two weekly - A0/A1 Weds 13h-13h30, A2/B1 - Thurs 13h-13h45, all details are in the weekly newsletter - sign up here.

AND because we learn really well from stories and seeing examples of correct language, every week I put together 3 stories or dialogues on the week’s theme with examples of the week’s words and phrases in a useful context. I strongly believe that we can learn a lot from reading, these mini-texts with translations are just the right length for you to digest easily. (look at the translations first if that helps!)

Nível A1 – Ir ao supermercado

Hoje é sábado. Eu vou ao supermercado. Levo uma lista com frutas, pão, leite e arroz. No

supermercado, vou buscar um carrinho. Primeiro, vou à secção das frutas. Compro maçãs e

bananas. Depois, vou ao pão. Gosto de pão fresco. Levo uma garrafa de leite e um pacote de

arroz. Pago na caixa e volto para casa.

Nível A2 – Uma manhã no supermercado

Hoje de manhã, fui ao supermercado perto da minha casa. Fiz uma lista com tudo o que

precisava: legumes, carne, leite, ovos e detergente. Entrei, fui buscar um carrinho e comecei

pelas frutas. Escolhi laranjas, maçãs e uvas. Depois fui ao talho e comprei frango. A fila na caixa

estava longa, mas esperei com paciência. A senhora da caixa foi simpática e ajudou-me com os

sacos. Quando cheguei a casa, arrumei as compras e preparei um café.

Nível B1 – A experiência de fazer compras num supermercado grande

No fim de semana passado, decidi fazer compras num supermercado grande, fora da cidade.

Gosto de lá ir porque tem mais variedade e preços melhores. Antes de sair, fiz uma lista

detalhada com os produtos que precisava, incluindo alguns ingredientes para um jantar

especial. O supermercado estava cheio, por isso tive de ter paciência. Enquanto procurava os

produtos, encontrei algumas promoções interessantes. Comprei azeite, massas italianas, queijo,

legumes frescos e vinho. Quando cheguei a casa, senti-me satisfeito com a escolha e comecei

logo a cozinhar. Fazer compras pode ser cansativo, mas também é uma boa oportunidade para

descobrir novos produtos.

Transcriptions

A1 Level – Going to the supermarket

Today is Saturday. I go to the supermarket. I take a list with fruit, bread, milk, and rice. At the 

supermarket, I get a trolley. First, I go to the fruit section. I buy apples and bananas. Then I go to 

the bread. I like fresh bread. I get a bottle of milk and a packet of rice. I pay at the till and go 

home. 

A2 Level – A morning at the supermarket

This morning, I went to the supermarket near my house. I made a list with everything I needed: 

vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, and detergent. I went in, took a trolley, and started with the fruit. I 

chose oranges, apples, and grapes. Then I went to the butcher’s and bought chicken. The queue 

at the till was long, but I waited patiently. The lady at the till was friendly and helped me with the 

bags. When I got home, I put the shopping away and made a coffee.

B1 Level – The experience of shopping in a big supermarket

Last weekend, I decided to shop at a big supermarket outside the city. I like going there because 

it has more variety and better prices. Before leaving, I made a detailed list of the products I 

needed, including some ingredients for a special dinner. The supermarket was crowded, so I had 

to be patient. While looking for the products, I found some interesting special offers. I bought olive 

oil, Italian pasta, cheese, fresh vegetables, and wine. When I got home, I felt satisfied with my 

choices and started cooking right away. Shopping can be tiring, but it's also a good opportunity 

No comboio

O tema esta semana é No comboio - The theme this week is On the train.

um bilhete de ida e volta - a return ticket
um bilhete simples - a single ticket
preciso de mudar de comboio? - do I need to change train?
é direto - it's direct
daqui a vinte minutos - in 20 minutes
de primeira classe - by (lit. of) 1st class
de segunda classe - by (lit. of) 2nd class
qual é a linha? - which is the platform?
quanto tempo falta para a partida? - how much time is there before the departure? (lit. how much time misses for)
quanto tempo demora a viagem? - how long does the journey take? (lit. how much time lasts the journey)

Here’s a link to a Quizlet set with the words for you to play about with. 

If you would like to join one of the weekly chat groups - we run two weekly - A0/A1 Weds 13h-13h30, A2/B1 - Thurs 13h-13h45, all details are in the weekly newsletter - sign up here.

AND because we learn really well from stories and seeing examples of correct language, every week I put together 3 stories or dialogues on the week’s theme with examples of the week’s words and phrases in a useful context. I strongly believe that we can learn a lot from reading, these mini-texts with translations are just the right length for you to digest easily. (look at the translations first if that helps!)

A0 / A1 Na bilheteira da estação

— Bom dia!

— Bom dia. Queria um bilhete, por favor.

— Para onde?

— Para Lisboa.

— Quer um bilhete simples ou um bilhete de ida e volta?

— Um bilhete simples, por favor.

— Segunda classe?

— Sim, de segunda classe.

— O comboio parte daqui a vinte minutos.

— É direto?

— Sim, é direto.

— Qual é a linha?

— Linha três.

— Obrigado!

— Boa viagem!

A2 No comboio

— Desculpe, este lugar está livre?

— Sim, pode sentar-se.

— Obrigado. Este comboio vai para o Porto?

— Sim, mas é melhor confirmar com o revisor.

— Sabe se preciso de mudar de comboio?

— Não, este comboio é direto.

— Ótimo.

— Vai de primeira ou segunda classe?

— De segunda classe. E você?

— De primeira classe. Gosto de mais espaço.

— Boa ideia!

— Sabe quanto tempo demora a viagem

— Cerca de três horas.

— Obrigado!

— De nada

B1+ Na estação, antes de embarcar

— Olá, boa tarde. Sabe dizer-me qual é a linha para Coimbra?

— Deixe ver no painel... É a linha cinco.

— Obrigado. E quanto tempo falta para a partida?

— Cerca de dez minutos.

— A viagem é direta?

— Não, precisa de mudar de comboio em Entroncamento.

— Ah, percebo. E quanto tempo demora a viagem?

— Mais ou menos duas horas e meia.

— Já agora, pode dizer-me onde posso comprar um bilhete de ida e volta?

— Sim, na bilheteira ali à direita.

— Muito obrigado.

— Boa viagem!

Translations of the dialogues:

A0 / A1 At the station ticket office

— Good morning!

— Good morning. I’d like a ticket, please.

— To where?

— To Lisbon.

— Do you want a single ticket or a return ticket?

— A single ticket, please.

— Second class?

— Yes, second class.

— The train leaves in 20 minutes.

— Is it direct?

— Yes, it’s direct.

— Which is the platform?

— Platform three.

— Thank you!

— Have a good journey!

A2 On the train

— Excuse me, is this seat free?

— Yes, you can sit down.

— Thank you. Is this train going to Porto?

— Yes, but it’s best to check with the conductor.

— Do you know if I need to change train?

— No, this train is direct.

— Great.

— Are you travelling first or second class?

— Second class. And you?

— First class. I like more space.

— Good idea!

— Do you know how long the journey takes?

— Around three hours.

— Thanks!

— You’re welcome.

B1+ At the station, before boarding

— Hello, good afternoon. Do you know which is the platform for Coimbra?

— Let me check the screen… It’s platform five.

— Thank you. And how much time is there before departure?

— About ten minutes.

— Is the journey direct?

— No, you need to change train at Entroncamento.

— Ah, I see. And how long does the journey take?

— Around two and a half hours.

— By the way, can you tell me where I can buy a return ticket?

— Yes, at the ticket office on the right.

— Thank you very much.

— Have a good journey

Quizlet Vocab Booster Series!

Over the last 7 weeks the Quizlet Self-study series has been free to access, and to accompany this, I’ve been recording ‘Quizlet Live Vocab Booster’ weekly on Facebook.

In these live videos I talk through a set of vocabulary for each of the 3 levels giving tips and advice on how to best learn these words effectively.

Here’s a selection of videos, links to the accompanying sets are in the descriptions on my YouTube channel. Note! These are live videos, no editing here!!

Como se chama? Ele chama-se Filipe Why does the 'se' move

One of the most common questions I get asked by learners who are really starting to get into the language is why do some words move around. I ask a few questions to find out what they are talking about in particular, and they are nearly always talking about the -se - o - nos etc, that can either be tagged onto the end of verbs, or just before them.

‘It seems to be so random!’ they say, ‘sometimes they are stuck at the end of a verb, other times right before!´ There is nothing worse than something you can’t pin down, a wild card, and this gets learners worrying!

No need to worry! It is very predictable, although it does take time and practise to master. This is something peculiar to European Portuguese, the Brazilian version (like Spanish and French) puts these little words neatly before the verbs.

So, to let out the secret….

It’s all about what I call ‘trigger words’. These are certain words, which when found just before the verb in a sentence oblige the little word to move from its usual position tagged onto the end of the verb to being placed before the verb (without the hyphen).

Let’s look at some examples:

Como se chama? vs Ele chama-se Filipe
Não me lembro o nome dele. vs Lembras-te o nome dele?
Já o vi vs Vi-o
Gosto de lhe dar prendas vs Dei-lhe uma prenda

Can you spot the trigger words? Como, Não, Já and de

I group these words into 4 categories to make it easier to remember:

1. Question WORDS - Como, Porque, Quando…. (must be a word not just a question…)

2. Negatives - Não, nunca, nada…

3. ‘Adverbials’ - words like já, ainda, só, todos …

4. Prepositions - de, em, por, para ….

And that’s about it! Get reading to spot as many examples as you can, and once you are feeling confident, have a go! You’ll soon be correcting yourself for putting the -me, te, o etc after as you get a feel for it, Já me.. Nunca o .. quando te .. starts to sound really good :)

There are a few more advanced points here, but to keep to the point and not go off on tangents I’ve left them out (perhaps they will be the subject of another blog post!)

How to understand spoken Portuguese better... listen more!

A common complaint of students is although they can READ Portuguese well, as soon as someone speaks to them, they have little idea of what’s being said :(

Portuguese does take time to ‘tune into’ and you need to give yourself opportunity to do this by exposing your ears to as much Portuguese as possible.

How to do this in a relaxed way? Listen to the radio!

Some tips on how to get the most out of this:

1 - Choose a station with music you like. Or you will end up turning it off!
2 - A commercial station with adverts is a GOOD idea. Why? You will hear the same adverts, with exactly the same words repeated over and over and each time you will understand a bit more.
3 - Don’t try to pick out every word. The object here is to ‘tune into’ Portuguese. Get used to the sounds of the language, the way it sounds being spoken by different speakers. Listen for how the langauage sounds overall, with all the words sliding together naturally.
4 - Listen out for: numbers - in weather forecasts, traffic bulletins, time, dates etc.
place names, cities, countries
greetings, words that are often repeated.

How can you listen to the radio? On the internet! https://radioonline.com.pt/ has some stations. Here’s some infomation on a few of them.

Antena 1, 2, 3 don’t have adverts. 1 is mostly news, 2 classical, 3 independent music
RFM and Radio Comercial play ‘hits’, music and adverts
TSF has news and chat, information , no music really
Cidade FM is an upbeat station aimed at youngsters

Do you have a estação de rádio preferida? Any other tips - dicas- on listening in Portuguese?

Answering questions quickly!

Olá! Thinking this week about developing fluency…

We often want to speak Portuguese in a conversation, and be able to respond to what people ask us.

Very often the thought process is like this:

1) What did they say? translate to Mother tongue
2) What do I want to say? think of answer in Mother tongue
3) How do I say that in Portuguese? by this time I have completely forgotten what they question I was asked was, and maybe the conversation has moved on!!

This can be TOO SLOW… how to speed it up?

Listen to the question, and decide what type of question it is and accordingly use that information to get speaking FASTER

• Is it a question about somebody else? He/She/They. »» Repeat the verb in the same way in your answer.
  E.g: - O teu irmão mora na Escócia? - Não, mora na Irlanda / - Onde estão os seus documentos? - Estão aqui

• Is it a question about YOU (just you, 1 person)? »» Change to ‘I’ verb form, ‘o’ ending present, ‘ei/i’ end past

  E.g. - Voltaste para casa ontem? - Não, voltei no domingo / - A senhora quer sentar aqui? - Quero

• Is it a question about YOUS (you and someone else) »» Change to ‘-mos’ on the end of the verb

  E.g. - Os senhores visitaram Sintra? - Visitámos / - Vocês querem ir à praia? - Queremos

Obviously, there are a few irregular verbs to deal with that are slightly different, but this can help you to speed things up overall and get speaking more confidently and faster :)

VIDEO - Here and there (and there) This and that (and that)

The video that explains what these words are, differences between them and how to use them correctly.

VIDEO - Pronunciation - emphasis in European Portuguese

Getting the emphasis of individual words correct is key to having correct pronunciation. Following these 'rules, or patterns if you like, will enable to you speak MUCH more confidently - I guarantee it :)

VIDEO - pronunciation (or not...) of the letter E

This is THE most important thing to take on board to understand and pronounce European Portuguese correctly.

VIDEO - Pronunciation of the letter C