Table of Contents
Introduction 1 About This Book 2
Conventions Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Chapter 1: Say It How? Speaking Portuguese 5
Exploring the Roots of Portuguese 6
Reciting Your ABCs 8
Conquering Consonants 9
The letter C 10
The letter D 10
The letter G 11
The letter H 11
The letter J 12
The letter L 12
The letters M and N 12
The letter Q 13
The letter R 13
The letter S 14
The letter T 14
The letter W 14
The letter X 15
Exercising Your Jowls with Vowels 15
The letters A and à 15
The letters E and Ê 16
The letter I 16
The letters O and Ô 17
The letter U 17
Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics 19
Constructing Simple Sentences 19
Nouns 20
Adjectives 20
Articles 21
Pronouns 22
Verbs 23
The Simple Tenses: Present, Past, and Future 24
Present tense 25
Past tense 27
Future tense 28
Conjugating the tenses 29
Connecting It All Together 32
Making Contractions: It’s a Cinch! 33
To Me, to You: Indirect Objects 34
Commanding an Audience 35
Getting Possessive 35
Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds 39
Numbers to Know: When Everything Counts 39
The Big Countdown: Ordinal Numbers 41
Telling Time 42
Monday, Tuesday: Weekdays 44
Tracking the Calendar: Months and Dates 46
Naming the months 46
Picking a date 47
Money, Money, Money 48
Currency and prices 49
Getting money from banks and ATMs 50
Measuring Distances and Other Stuff 52
Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk 55
A Few Ways to Say Hello and Goodbye 56
Introducing Yourself 58
First Names, Last Names, and Nicknames 59
Knowing Who, What, and Where 61
“Where Are You From?” 62
Describing the World around You 66
Describing permanent qualities: Ser 66
Describing temporary qualities: Estar 70
Speaking about Speaking 71
The Good, the Bad, and the Humid: Weather 73
Figuring Out Family Connections 75
Giving Out Your Contact Information 76
Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!) 79
Bom Apetite! Enjoy Your Meal! 79
At the Restaurant: Trying Local Foods 81
Ordering at a restaurant 82
Ordering a drink 85
First foods up: Salads and condiments 86
On to the main course 88
Basking in Brazilian barbeque 89
Doing dessert 90
Paying the bill 91
Chapter 6: Shop ’Til You Drop 95
Finding Places to Shop 95
Out for the Perfect Outfit 96
Skirts and shirts: Which to choose 97
Trying it on 99
Exploring Brazilian Treasures 101
Shopping for Food and Necessities at the Market 103
Getting some practical items 103
Shopping at the outdoor market 104
Making Comparisons and Expressing Opinions 105
Paying for Your Purchases 106
Chapter 7: Making Leisure a Top Priority 109
Talking about Going Out 110
Inviting someone and being invited 110
Asking what the place or event is like 111
Asking People What They Like to Do 113
Taking in Brazil’s Musical Culture 114
Playing an instrument 114
Dancing around and singing out loud 116
Exploring Carnaval in Brazil 117
Exploring Art Galleries and Museums 118
Going to the Movies 119
Hanging Out at the Beach 120
What to take to the beach 121
Talking about beach safety 123
Expressing beauty: “It’s so beautiful!” 124
Getting Out for a Walk (or a Hike) 125
Playing Soccer — Brazil’s National Pastime 127
Falling in Love — in Portuguese 128
Chapter 8: When You Gotta Work 131
Picking Up the Phone 131
Saying hello and goodbye 132
Making a call 133
Dealing with verbal mush 135
Talking in the past 137
Talking about Work 138
Dealing with Computers 142
Chapter 9: I Get Around: Transportation 145
On the Move: Transportation 146
Making a plane reservation 146
Taking buses 150
Hailing táxis 150
Renting a car 152
Onde? Where? The Question for Going Places 154
Understanding Spatial Directions 157
Navigating Cityscapes 159
Over Here, Over There 162
How Far? Perto ou longe? 163
Chapter 10: Finding a Place to Lay Your Weary Head 165
Finding a Place to Live 165
Checking Out the Hotel or Pousada 167
Deciding where to stay 167
Making reservations 169
Checking in and checking out: Registration procedures 170
Talking about Sleep 171
Chapter 11: Dealing with Emergencies 175
Stick ’em Up: What to Say If You’re Robbed 176
Asking for and receiving help 176
Reporting a problem to the police 178
Handling Health Emergencies 179
Getting sick 180
Handling broken bones and other injuries 183
Discussing Legal Problems 185
Chapter 12: Ten Favorite Brazilian Portuguese Expressions 187
Que saudade! 187
Fala sério! 187
pra caramba! 188
Lindo maravilhoso! 188
É mesmo? 189
Um beijo! or Um abraço! 189
Imagina! 189
Pois não? 190
Com certeza! 190
Fique tranqüilo 190
Chapter 13: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Like a Local 191
Né? 191
Tá 192
Ah é? 192
Então 192
Sabe? 192
Meio 193
Ou seja/E tal 193
Cê Instead of Você 193
Pra Instead of Para a 194
Tô instead of Estou 194
Index 195
