Today, we’re going to discuss air travel on the podcast.

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Fui ao aeroporto às 16:00 horas.

Fiz o check-in, passei pela imigração e pela segurança.

Depois, esperei no portão.

Embarquei no avião e achei o meu assento.

A aeromoça trouxe o jantar e depois fiquei dormindo.

Quando cheguei ao aeroporto, passei pela imigração de novo e pela alfândega.

Finalmente, fui pegar minhas malas na esteira de bagagens.

First, the speaker says, “I went to the airport at 4PM.” Note that in Brazil, they use military time, so 4PM translates as 16:00. The past simple of ir (to go) is fui in the first person. When we talk about time, we put a grave accent on the as (at), before the number. We also must put horas (hours) after the number when we talk about time. Also note that the preposition for “to” in “to the airport” is ao (since airport is a masculine noun and joins with the a, which is “to”).

This means: “I checked in (or went to check in) and went through immigration and security.” The past simple of fazer (to make/do) is fiz in the first person, which is an irregular verb, and the past simple of passar (to pass/go through) is passei in the first person, which is a regular verb. In Portuguese, check-in is the same as in English, but you pronounce it with a Portuguese accent and use it with fazer (to do). Immigration is imigração, and security is segurança. Don’t forget the preposition here, which is por, which changes to pela, due to the feminine nouns.

Here, the speaker says, “Then I waited at the gate.” Depois means after, or then. The past simple of esperar (to wait) is esperei in the first person, and is a regular verb. Gate is portão, and is masculine, despite the fact that porta (door), a related word, is feminine. Here, the preposition is em, but becomes no, since it precedes a masculine noun.

This means: “I boarded the plane and found my seat.” Embarcar means to board or to embark, and in the past simple, first person tense, it becomes embarquei. Note that here, the c changes to a qu, since you can’t achieve the “kay” sound with a ce, and must change it to a q. Achar (to find) becomes achei in the past simple, first person. Avião is airplane, and assento is seat.

Here, he says: “The flight attendant brought dinner and then I fell asleep.” Aeromoça means stewardess, or flight attendant. O jantar means dinner, which can also be a janta. Trazer (to bring) is irregular, and in the first person, past simple becomes trouxe (don’t forget the x, which has an s sound). Ficar (to stay/become) in the past simple, first person becomes fiquei. Note that again, we must change the c to a qu to achieve the “kay” sound. Ficar dormindo means to fall asleep.

This means, “When I arrived at the airport, I went through immigration again, and through customs.” Chegar, to arrive, becomes cheguei in the first person, past simple. Again, we use a (to) as the preposition, which becomes ao because of the subsequent masculine noun. Here, we have to add a u to achieve the hard g sound. De novo is “again.” Alfândega is customs. Again, we use passar (to pass/go through) with por, which becomes pela because of the feminine nouns.

Here, the speaker says, “Finally, I picked up (or got) my bags at baggage claim.” Finalmente is finally, and mala is suitcase or bag. In this case, my becomes minhas, since we have a plural, feminine noun. Pegar is to pick up, or get. Esteira de bagagens is the actual belt on which the luggage comes, but we can translate it as baggage claim.