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Podcast: Getting in Touch

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Mar 31 2009

Today is Podcast Day! Check out the podcast here: CommunicationsPodcast

Also be sure to check out the BYKI list.

Today, we’re going to learn about the terms used to discuss communication and getting in touch.

Estou tentando entrar em contato com o Marcelo.
Já liguei para a casa dele, mas ninguém está atendendo.
Ele me deu o número de seu celular, mas não anotei.
Não adianta mandar email, se ele não está em casa.
Já escrevi para ele no Orkut, mas ele não deve ter visto.
Se eu tivesse o número dele, mandaria um SMS.
Preciso avisá-lo sobre o jogo, é urgente.

Entrar em contato com means “to get in touch with.” Tentar means to try. All together, this means, “I’m trying to get in touch with Marcelo.” Note that when we refer specifically to a person using his name, we use the article, which in this case is masculine [o], since we are referring to a man. If we were to translate this literally, we would say, “with the Marcelo.”

This means “I already called his house, but no one is picking up.” Ligar means to call, and atender means to pick up or answer the phone. Note that ninguém means no one, and dele is the possessive for his. Also note that we use the progressive tense like we would in English to say that no one is answering the phone.

Here, the speaker says: “He gave me his cell phone number, but I didn’t write it down.” Anotar is to write down. Celular is cell phone. Note that we say the number of his cell phone (o número de seu celular), and that in this case, we use seu for the possessive of “his.”

Adiantar> is a very useful verb that means to help or to be worth it to do something. To get an idea of how it is used, here’s an example: Não adianta voltar para o escritório, porque já está fechado. There’s no use in going back to the office, because it’s already closed. In this case, it is used to say “It won’t do any good to send an email if he’s not home.” Estar em casa means to be at home. Mandar email means to send email. Remember that PDAs are very expensive in Brazil and fewer people have Blackberrys and Iphones than in the US.

This means, “I wrote to him on Orkut, but he must not have seen it.” Orkut is the most popular social networking site in Brazil, and an overwhelming number of people use it. There’s a part similar to a Facebook wall, called scraps, where people leave each other messages to communicate. Note that we often use já when using the simple past, even if we don’t always translate it as “already” and make it implicit in the past tense, as we do here. In this case, we use dever (to should/must), to mean “he must not have seen it.”

In this sentence, we use the conditional tense. Here, the speaker says: “If I had his number, I’d send him a text message.” Mandar is to send. An SMS is a text message, and stands for serviço de mensagens curtas. They are also referred to as torpedos SMS and mensagens de texto. Text messages are a very common way of getting in touch with someone in Brazil, since cell phone calls are very expensive and text messaging is considerably cheaper.

This means: “I need to tell him about the game, it’s important.” Precisar is to need, and avisar is to warn or to tell. Here, we say “tell him” and have to use a contraction, in which we cut off the “r” in the infinitive, add a dash, and a lo (since it is a male we are referring to). Urgente means important or urgent.

Podcast: Using the past tense to discuss Carnival

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Feb 27 2009

Carnival Past Tense Podcast

Make sure you check out the BYKI list here.

Today, we’re going to look at the difference between the perfect preterite and the imperfect preterite in the past tense using ser and estar, as well as other verbs. We’ll also be talking about Carnival.

Ontem eu fui assistir o desfile no Sambódromo. Estava muito cheio.
Lá encontrei com meus amigos.

Estavam um pouco bêbados.
Eu estava com muito calor, mas consegui me refrescar bebendo água.
Tirei muitas fotos e gravei três vídeos.

No dia seguinte, fui ao bloco perto da minha casa.

Muitos amigos meus estavam lá.
Curti muito este Carnaval.

First, we need to keep in mind that the perfect preterite form describes an action that took place only once or at a specific time, while the imperfect preterite refers to a temporary state of being or an action taking place over an undefined period of time.

In this first phrase, we find both forms. In the first sentence, “Yesterday I watched the parade at the Sambodrome,” we use the perfect preterite, (fui) since it was an action that took place at a specific time (yesterday). The second phrase, “It was very crowded,” uses the imperfect preterite, since it describes a temporary state of being. Note that assistir means to watch and cheio means crowded or full.

This means, “I met my friends there.” In this case, we use the perfect preterite, since it describes a single action taking place once in the story. Note that to say meet, we say encontrar com (literally, to meet with).

Here, the speaker says, “They were a little drunk.” In this case, we use the imperfect preterite form, since temporary physical states are described with this tense, like being drunk or sick.

This means, “I was very hot, but I managed to keep cool by drinking water.” Note that the phrase to describe being hot is estar com calor, literally, to be with heat, where we use estar in the imperfect preterite, since it is a temporary state of being. To manage, or to successfully do something, is conseguir. In this case, we use the perfect preterite, since it is an action that took place once.

“I took lots of pictures and recorded three videos.” Tirar foto means to take a picture, and gravar video means to film. Here, we use the perfect preterite to indicate the singularity of the action at a specific moment rather than referring to a period of time.

Here, the speaker says, “The next day, I went to a street party near my house.” A bloco is a Carnival parade with a band and singers that make their way through the streets on foot or by truck. Note the use of the perfect preterite to refer to a specific action taken at a specific time.

This means, “Many friends of mine were there.” Here, we use estar in the imperfect preterite, since we are referring to a temporary state over an indefinite period of time. This can be a little tricky, but another way to understand this concept is combining the imperfect and perfect preterite into one phrase, like “Eu estava lá quando ele chegou.” I was there when he arrived.

Finally, this means “I had a lot of fun during Carnival.” Curtir is a slangy verb that means to have fun or to enjoy oneself.

Extra tip: try to think of the perfect preterite as something that happened, as opposed to the imperfect preterite as something that was happening.

Podcast: Shopping for Clothes

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Jan 30 2009

This week, we’re going to look at language to use when shopping for clothing, specifically men’s clothing. After you listen to the podcast, make sure you check out the BYKI list. Click the link below to hear the podcast.

Clothing Podcast

Estou procurando uma camisa polo e calças cáqui.
A marca não importa, mas quero uma camisa azul ou cinza.
Tem esta camisa em um tamanho maior?
As calças me ficaram muito bem.
Gostaria de uma bermuda simples, tamanho 36.
Aqui vende meias brancas? Preciso de umas novas.
Não gostei muito da camisa. Vou levar somente as calças e a bermuda.

In clothing stores in Brazil, employees tend to be very attentive, so it helps if you let them know exactly what you want. Here, the speaker says, “I’m looking for a polo shirt and khaki pants.” Procurar means to look for. Note that pants can be calças (plural) or calça (singular). Also, note that khaki sounds almost the same, but with a different spelling.

This means, “The brand doesn’t matter, but I want a blue or grey shirt.” Marca means brand, or clothing label, and here we use the verb importar (to matter) in the present tense to describe a lack of preference. Note that cinza is the word for grey.

Here, the speaker asks, “Do you have this shirt in a bigger size?” We could also translate this as, “Does this shirt come in a bigger size?” Note that maior is larger, or bigger, and menor is smaller.

This means, “The pants fit me very well.” Ficar mean to fit, so to say “they fit me,” we say me ficaram.

Bermuda means men’s shorts, which also include bathing suit shorts, like board shorts. To make a polite request, it’s best to use gostar (to like) in the conditional tense: I would like. Here, the speaker says, “I would like plain shorts, size 36.” Simples means plain or simple, and tamanho means size. Note that in Brazil, they mostly use European sizes.

This means, “Do you sell white socks here? I need some new ones.” Socks are meias. Note that precisar means to need, accompanied by de before the noun.

Finally, the speaker says, “I don’t really like the shirt. I’m just going to take the pants and the shorts.” Não gostar muito means to not like very much, or to not really like, and is a nicer way of giving negative feedback. Note that in Portuguese, we used gostar in the simple past tense, but in the English translatiion, we put it in the simple present tense. Somente means only, which is the same thing as só. Levar means to take.

Stay tuned for next month’s podcast!

Podcast: Discussing Preferences

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Dec 31 2008

Music Preference Podcast: Click here!

This week, we’re going to learn how to discuss preferences, using music as an example. Make sure you check out the BYKI list when you’re done listening!

The word adorar (adore) is used to describe something you really like, whether it’s a person or a thing. In this case it means, “I love to listen to music.”

In Portuguese, we use the word prefer more than we might in English, especially when talking about things we like. Here, the speaker says: “I prefer rock and MPB.” Note that MPB is música popular brasileira, or Brazilian pop music. Also, we use the word acostumado (accustomed to) when discussing things we do regularly, and we can use it in this instance to describe something we often do because we enjoy it. One way we could translate this part of the phrase is “I frequently listen to Latin music.”

There’s always the straightforward gostar (to like) when talking about preference. Here, we say, “I also really like reggae and hip hop.” Don’t forget that the verb gostar always has a de on the end, like “gosto de reggae.”

A useful negative verb to talk about preferences is detestar (to detest). Here, the speaker says, “I can’t stand sertanejo and forró.” Note that sertanejo is a type of Brazilian music akin to American country music, and forró is a type of traditional music from the Northeast of Brazil that uses accordions and percussion.

Odiar (to hate) is a strong negative word and should be used carefully. Aliás can mean a number of things, including “as a matter of fact,” “in fact,” “plus,” “nevertheless,” or “incidentally.” Here, the speaker says, “Plus, I hate pagode.” Pagode is a subgenre of samba that is often played in a circle, like samba groups.

The phrase “não gosto muito” is quite useful when discussing preference, because it denotes that you don’t like something but without being too negative. The speaker says, “I don’t really like axé, but my girlfriend likes it.” Note that axé is a typical Brazilian music from Bahia with very upbeat, pop –like tunes.

De vez em quando means once in awhile. This means, “Once in awhile, I listen to samba and bossa nova.” Note that samba is a masculine noun (o samba) and bossa nova is feminine (a bossa nova). Both are types of Brazilian music born in Rio de Janeiro.

Podcast: Making an Order on the Phone

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Nov 28 2008

OrderingonPhonePodcast

For today’s podcast, we’re going to learn how to order by phone. Click on the link above to listen!

Boa noite. Gostaria de fazer um pedido.
Meu telefone é 7555-8222.
Meu endereço é Rua dos Patins, 300, apartamento número 215.
Quero pedir frango agridoce, yakisoba de camarão e uma Coca Cola de 1 litro.
Quanto custa?
Aceita cartão de crédito? Ah, não aceita.
Então por favor traga troco para cinquenta reais.
Vai demorar muito?
Tá bom então. Obrigado.

As I always say, it’s important to use a greeting that reflects the time of day in any conversation, formal or informal. In this case, we say good evening (boa noite). In this situation, an order is um pedido. We use the conditional of gostar (to like), which is a polite way of making a request. This means “I would like to make an order.”

Next, when making an order, we must give our information, which in this case is our phone number and address. The first statement means: “My number is 7555-8222,” though in Portuguese, instead of saying number, we literally say “telephone.” The second statement means: “My address is 300 Rollerskates Road, apartment number 215.” Note that the word for address is endereço.

To make the order, we can use the present tense of querer, which means to want, though we can translate quero (I want) as I’d like. The verb for “to order” is pedir, which also means to ask for. This line translates as: “I’d like to order sweet and sour chicken, shrimp yakisoba, and one liter of Coke.” Note that yakisoba is a Japanese dish made from fried noodles that is extremely popular in Brazil.

To ask how much the order costs, we ask, “Quanto custa?” This works for any type of purchasing transaction.

This means, “Do you accept credit cards? Oh, you don’t.” Aceitar means to accept, and cartão de credito means credit card. Note that we use the singular of credit card in Portuguese.

Since we can’t use a credit card, we’re going to have to use cash. When ordering something over the phone in Brazil, it’s a good idea to ask them ahead of time for the amount of change you’re going to need. So here, we say, “So please bring change for fifty reais.” Note that we use the subjunctive of trazer, which is traga.

Here, we ask, “Will it take long?” The verb demorar means to delay, but in this context refers to how much time something will take.

Finally, we say, “Ok then, thanks.” “Tá” in tá bom is short for está, but the shortened version is more common in colloquial Portuguese when using this particular expression, which means OK or all right.

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