Como é or como está ela? - What is the difference? It can feel like an insurmountable task to non-native speakers of Portuguese to tease out the difference between these two, and use them correctly. But if we focus on giving ourselves access to plenty of correct examples in meaningful contexts we will programme our (amazing!) brains to see the pattern and cleverly divide up the situations into those requiring SER (sou, és, é.. / fui, foste, foi… / era, éras, éra…) - those defining and fact differentiating; and those requiring estar (estou, estás, está… / estive, estiveste, esteve… / estava, estavas, estava…) - those current, right now states and moods.
Como é ela? What is she like? Describe her. I want to know the usual description of her - physically, mentally. Ela é alta, ela é bonita, ela é creativa, ela é um pouco tímida… (She is tall, pretty, creative, a bit shy…)
Como está ela? How is she? What is her current state. I want to know about her health, her mood. Today. Ela está muito constipada, ela está cansada, ela não está muito boa hoje… (She is full of cold, tired, not good today…)
Given enough clear examples in meaningful contexts we get a feel for what is right or wrong here.
(** please not permanent and temporary… if you want to get confused these are the labels to use - Sou casada, but I could get divorced. Ele é gordo, but he could lose weight, Somos americanos, but we may rescind our nationality… **)
Here are some phrases for this week - phrases for describing people. Notice how we use é for descriptions, the adjectives match the gender - baixa, loira (ela), alto, moreno (ele), azuis, castanhos (olhos) and if you are getting into the details - ele tem barba - not uma barba :)
ele tem olhos azuis - he has blue eyes
ela tem olhos castanhos - she has brown eyes
ele tem barba - he has a beard
ela tem cabelo curto - she has short hair
ela tem cabelo comprido - she has long hair
ele é alto - he is tall
ela é baixa - she is short
ele usa óculos - he wears glasses
ela é loira - she is blond
ele é moreno - he is dark haired
Here´s a link to a quizlet set with the words for you to play about with.
If you would like to join the weekly chat group (chatting about this theme) - Thurs 13h-13h45 - all details are in the sign up form here Your first chat is free :)
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!)
Stories:
A0 / A1 – Na escola
Na minha turma há muitos colegas diferentes. O João é alto e moreno. Ele tem olhos azuis e usa óculos. A Inês é baixa e loira. Ela tem cabelo curto e olhos castanhos. O professor é simpático e tem barba. Ele fala devagar e ajuda todos os alunos. Na aula de português, nós falamos, lemos e escrevemos. Eu gosto muito da minha turma. Todos são amigos e gostam de aprender. Depois da aula, vamos ao café perto da escola. Lá, bebemos sumo ou café e falamos da lição. É um dia normal, mas eu fico contente porque gosto de estudar com os meus amigos.
A2 – Um encontro no parque
No domingo, o Miguel encontra a Sofia no parque. Ele é alto, moreno e tem barba. Usa óculos escuros porque há muito sol. A Sofia é baixa e tem cabelo comprido e olhos castanhos. Ela é muito sorridente. Eles falam sobre o trabalho e os planos para o verão. Miguel quer fazer férias na praia e Sofia prefere ir às montanhas. Depois de caminhar um pouco, sentam-se num banco e compram gelados. O Miguel pede um de morango e a Sofia um de chocolate. É uma conversa simples, mas divertida. No fim, trocam números de telefone e combinam ver-se outra vez.
B1+ – Uma nova colega no escritório
Ontem chegou uma nova colega ao escritório, chamada Marta. Ela é loira, tem cabelo comprido e olhos castanhos. É muito simpática e fala com todos logo no primeiro dia. O Pedro, que é alto e tem barba, ajuda-a a instalar-se no computador. A Marta diz que gosta muito de trabalhar em equipa. À hora de almoço, o grupo vai comer a um restaurante perto. Conversam sobre viagens, hobbies e filmes. Descobrem que têm muito em comum. No final do dia, todos ficam com a sensação de que a Marta vai ser uma excelente colega. O ambiente no escritório torna-se mais alegre e positivo.
Translations : )A0 / A1 – At schoolIn my class there are many different classmates. João is tall and dark-haired. He has blue eyes and wears glasses. Inês is short and blond. She has short hair and brown eyes. The teacher is nice and has a beard. He speaks slowly and helps all the students. In the Portuguese lesson, we speak, read, and write. I like my class very much. Everyone is friendly and likes learning. After class, we go to the café near the school. There, we drink juice or coffee and talk about the lesson. It’s an ordinary day, but I’m happy because I like studying with my friends.A2 – A meeting in the parkOn Sunday, Miguel meets Sofia in the park. He is tall, dark-haired and has a beard. He wears sunglasses because it’s very sunny. Sofia is short and has long hair and brown eyes. She smiles a lot. They talk about work and their plans for the summer. Miguel wants to go on holiday to the beach, and Sofia prefers the mountains. After walking a bit, they sit on a bench and buy ice creams. Miguel orders strawberry and Sofia chocolate. It’s a simple but fun conversation. At the end, they exchange phone numbers and agree to see each other again.B1+ – A new colleague in the officeYesterday a new colleague arrived at the office, called Marta. She is blond, has long hair and brown eyes. She is very friendly and talks to everyone on her first day. Pedro, who is tall and has a beard, helps her set up her computer. Marta says she really enjoys working in a team. At lunchtime, the group goes to eat at a nearby restaurant. They talk about travel, hobbies and films, and discover they have a lot in common. By the end of the day, everyone feels that Marta will be an excellent colleague. The atmosphere in the office becomes more cheerful and positive.