Day 3: Things and people

Course › Week 1: First words

Emma's second morning at the agency. Lucas shows her around the office, and then gets curious about her very big bag.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Before anything new, pull these out of memory. They come from earlier days, some from yesterday and some from weeks ago. Getting one wrong is useful: it shows you what to look at again.

1. She isn’t the boss.______
2. What’s your name?______
3. Boa ______!Good evening!
4. Tudo ______?How’s it going?

Show all answers

1. Ela não é a chefe.
2. Qual é o seu nome?
3. Boa noite!
4. Tudo bem?

Listen and read

Listen once without reading. Every thing Emma and Lucas name has a little word in front of it: o, a, um or uma. Which things get which?

Did you understand?

1. What does Lucas show Emma first?The dictionary The office The bag
2. What does Lucas say about Emma’s bag?It’s big. It’s small. It’s new.
3. Which book does Emma have in her bag?A magazine A cookbook A dictionary
4. What is Lucas’s present for Emma?A pen A mug A key

Show all answers

1. What does Lucas show Emma first? The office
2. What does Lucas say about Emma’s bag? It’s big.
3. Which book does Emma have in her bag? A dictionary
4. What is Lucas’s present for Emma? A mug

Every word is masculine or feminine

In Portuguese every noun (a word for a thing, a person or an idea) is either masculine or feminine. This is a grammar label, not a fact about the thing: a book is masculine and a table is feminine for no reason you can see. The label matters because the words around the noun change to match it, starting with "the": o for masculine words and a for feminine ones.

Clues to the gender

You can often tell from the ending.

• The -ema words are the trap: they end in -a but are masculine. o problema, o sistema (the system). So is o dia (the day), which is why it's bom dia and not boa dia.
• Words that end in -e or in a consonant can be either: o presente, a chave, o papel, o celular. For these, the article is the only clue, which is one more reason to learn it with the word.
• With people, the gender follows the person: o amigo is a male friend and a amiga a female friend, o homem (the man) and a mulher (the woman). Some words only change their article: o colega and a colega, o estudante and a estudante.

A, an and some

"A" or "an" is um for masculine words and uma for feminine ones. Their plurals, uns and umas, mean "some".

To ask what something is, say O que é isso? The answer starts with É ("it is"). Portuguese has no separate word for "it" here.

• O que é isso? What's that?
• É um caderno. It's a notebook.
• É uma chave. It's a key.

More than one

"The" has plural forms too: os for masculine words and as for feminine ones. The noun gets a plural ending, and the ending depends on its last letter.

Four things to know:

• Most words in -ão make -ões, but a few common ones don't: a mão (the hand) becomes as mãos, and o pão (the bread roll) becomes os pães. Learn those when you meet them.
• Words that already end in -s add -es when the last syllable is the stressed one, and lose their accent mark: o inglês (the Englishman) becomes os ingleses. Otherwise they don't change at all: o ônibus (the bus), os ônibus (the buses).
• A group of men and women, or of masculine and feminine things, is masculine: os amigos can be male friends or a mixed group.
• A few words are always plural, as in English: os óculos are "the glasses".

Describing words match the noun, just as nationalities matched the person on day 2. With a feminine noun, -o becomes -a; with a plural noun, add -s. The describing word usually comes after the noun.

• O livro é novo. The book is new.
• A caneca é nova. The mug is new.
• Os livros são novos. The books are new.
• As chaves são pequenas. The keys are small.
• É um computador novo. It's a new computer.

This is…

To show or introduce something, use este é with a masculine word and esta é with a feminine one. For more than one, it's estes são and estas são.

It works for people too. That's how Lucas introduced Emma yesterday: Carol, esta é a Emma. For a man: Este é o Lucas.

Practice

The: pick o, a, os or as.

1. ___ livro é novo.O As A
2. ___ caneta é pequena.A Os O
3. ___ chaves são pequenas.Os A As
4. ___ computadores são novos.Os O As
5. ___ cidade é grande.A O Os
6. ___ problema é pequeno.O As A
7. ___ informação é boa.Os O A
8. ___ celular é novo.As A O

Show all answers

1. O livro é novo.
2. A caneta é pequena.
3. As chaves são pequenas.
4. Os computadores são novos.
5. A cidade é grande.
6. O problema é pequeno.
7. A informação é boa.
8. O celular é novo.

Complete with um, uma, uns or umas.

1. É ______ livro. (a)It’s a book.
2. É ______ chave. (a)It’s a key.
3. Isso é ______ caneca. (a)That’s a mug.
4. O Lucas é ______ amigo. (a)Lucas is a friend.
5. É ______ problema pequeno. (a)It’s a small problem.
6. É ______ cidade grande. (a)It’s a big city.
7. São ______ canetas novas. (some)They’re some new pens.
8. São ______ cadernos novos. (some)They’re some new notebooks.

Show all answers

1. É um livro.
2. É uma chave.
3. Isso é uma caneca.
4. O Lucas é um amigo.
5. É um problema pequeno.
6. É uma cidade grande.
7. São umas canetas novas.
8. São uns cadernos novos.

Write the plural of the word in brackets.

1. Os ______ (livro) são novos.The books are new.
2. As ______ (chave) são pequenas.The keys are small.
3. Os ______ (computador) são bons.The computers are good.
4. Os ______ (cartão) são novos.The cards are new.
5. Os ______ (hotel) são grandes.The hotels are big.
6. Os ______ (homem) são brasileiros.The men are Brazilian.
7. As ______ (mulher) são canadenses.The women are Canadian.

Show all answers

1. Os livros são novos.
2. As chaves são pequenas.
3. Os computadores são bons.
4. Os cartões são novos.
5. Os hotéis são grandes.
6. Os homens são brasileiros.
7. As mulheres são canadenses.

Write it in Portuguese.

1. What’s that?______
2. It’s a pen.______
3. This is the office.______
4. The bag is big.______
5. The books are new.______
6. These are the keys.______
7. The chair isn’t new.______
8. This is Carol. She’s the boss.______

Show all answers

1. O que é isso?
2. É uma caneta.
3. Este é o escritório.
4. A bolsa é grande.
5. Os livros são novos.
6. Estas são as chaves.
7. A cadeira não é nova.
8. Esta é a Carol. Ela é a chefe.

Put the words in order.

1. This is the new computer.______
2. The bag isn’t small.______
3. The pens and the notebooks are new.______
4. These are the new books.______
5. Lucas is a Brazilian friend.______

Show all answers

1. Este é o computador novo.
2. A bolsa não é pequena.
3. As canetas e os cadernos são novos.
4. Estes são os livros novos.
5. O Lucas é um amigo brasileiro.

Listen and write what you hear.

1. ______It’s a new phone.
2. ______This is the desk.
3. ______The keys are small.
4. ______A notebook and a pen, please.
5. ______She’s a friend.

Show all answers

1. É um celular novo.
2. Esta é a mesa.
3. As chaves são pequenas.
4. Um caderno e uma caneta, por favor.
5. Ela é uma amiga.

Speak and write

Look around the room you're in. Point at things as you speak.

1. Point at something and ask what it is.

   Show a model answer

   O que é isso?

2. Answer: it's a notebook.

   Show a model answer

   É um caderno.

3. Show a visitor your desk and your computer.

   Show a model answer

   Esta é a mesa e este é o computador.

4. Introduce Carol and say she's the boss.

   Show a model answer

   Esta é a Carol. Ela é a chefe.

5. Say that the computers are new.

   Show a model answer

   Os computadores são novos.

6. Name three things in your bag or on your desk, each with um or uma.

   Show a model answer

   Um celular, uma caneta e uma chave.

Write: make a list of ten things you can see right now, each with o or a (look up the ones you don't know, and check the gender). Then write each one again in the plural with os or as. Read both lists out loud.

Flashcards

Spend about ten minutes on today’s words. Mark a card “I know it” only when the answer comes straight away.