1:1 Present tense of Ser
Portuguese has two (or three) verbs to describe being. The present tense of ser is below
Ser means "to be" but in the sense of a permanent characteristic that does not need to be verified each time you meet the person. I tend to think about the scenario where you are meeting your friend at the train station to go to the beach. You are with a group of friends who do not know Miguel and you need to the group how to recognize him, the features you use will be ser. Also introductions, titles, and time will be ser, e.g. Que horas são?
Eu sou I am
Tu és, You (informal) are
Ele/Ela/Você/Title é He/She/You (medium formal) is
Nós somos We are
Vós [sois], You are
Eles/Elas/Vocês são. They / You (plural) are
Vós, the 2nd person plural has largely dissappeared. Instead, now the 3rd person plural with vocês used to convey the 2nd person plural. I include the 2º plural only for the sake of completeness. In fact you don't need to know anything but 1st person singular, 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural. They are the most common forms and (unfortunately) the least regular as you will see in future lessons.
A note about "you". Language is a window into a culture, and like any window it does not provide a complete view. Portugal in business is very hierarchical but socially very open and the Portuguese are wonderfully generous when it comes to the language. Any attempt to speak it will be appreciated. As as an outsider you will not be held accountable for knowing the rules.
The other note is that Brazilians tend to use "você" for everyone it is just more complicated and beyond the scope to deal with here.
So what should you do?
To greet someone before you have had almoço (lunch).
Bom dia senhor, como está?
Bom dia senhora, como está?
To greet someone after almoço
Boa tarde senhor, como está?
Boa tarde senhora, como está?
To say goodnight
Boa noite senhor
Boa noite senhora
Next up, estar which you have already kind of learned.
Portuguese has two (or three) verbs to describe being. The present tense of ser is below
Ser means "to be" but in the sense of a permanent characteristic that does not need to be verified each time you meet the person. I tend to think about the scenario where you are meeting your friend at the train station to go to the beach. You are with a group of friends who do not know Miguel and you need to the group how to recognize him, the features you use will be ser. Also introductions, titles, and time will be ser, e.g. Que horas são?
Eu sou I am
Tu és, You (informal) are
Ele/Ela/Você/Title é He/She/You (medium formal) is
Nós somos We are
Vós [sois], You are
Eles/Elas/Vocês são. They / You (plural) are
Vós, the 2nd person plural has largely dissappeared. Instead, now the 3rd person plural with vocês used to convey the 2nd person plural. I include the 2º plural only for the sake of completeness. In fact you don't need to know anything but 1st person singular, 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural. They are the most common forms and (unfortunately) the least regular as you will see in future lessons.
A note about "you". Language is a window into a culture, and like any window it does not provide a complete view. Portugal in business is very hierarchical but socially very open and the Portuguese are wonderfully generous when it comes to the language. Any attempt to speak it will be appreciated. As as an outsider you will not be held accountable for knowing the rules.
The other note is that Brazilians tend to use "você" for everyone it is just more complicated and beyond the scope to deal with here.
So what should you do?
To greet someone before you have had almoço (lunch).
Bom dia senhor, como está?
Bom dia senhora, como está?
To greet someone after almoço
Boa tarde senhor, como está?
Boa tarde senhora, como está?
To say goodnight
Boa noite senhor
Boa noite senhora
Next up, estar which you have already kind of learned.
No comments:
Post a Comment