Mini-lesson Part 2: Gender

E agora - and now - the question is, What makes a noun masculine or feminine?
If you have been perceptive, you may have picked up on some of the patterns. Let's look at the following examples:

DETERMINATION OF GENDER
Masculine---When? Feminine---When?
gato= cat ends in "o" rapariga=girl ends in "a"
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cão=dog, ends in "ão" when in*simple, down-to-earth, and usually monosyllabic words, e.g. mão, hand; melão, melon.
paixão=passion most words ending in -ão are feminine, and usually they are complicated words or abstract nouns, e.g. explosão, explosion; confusão, confusion.
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rapaz= boy/homem=man/fóssil = fossil ends on a consonant (mostly m, l, r, z, s, but there are exceptions) maçã=apple/verdade=truth/ coragem=courageends in -ã, -ade,-gem, and -ice (again, there are exceptions, e.g. o divã, the divan).

Words ending with "e" are trickier as they can be both masculine and feminine, e.g. leite (masc.), milk; parte (fem.), part, debate (masc.), debate. With these one must learn by heart and experience.

Now, remember the four sentences I gave in the beginning? Take note again.

O nome do rapaz é Miguel. The name of the boy is Miguel.
O nome da rapariga é Paula. The name of the girl is Paula.
- É um rapaz! (It's a boy!)
- Não é! É uma rapariga! (No it isn't! It's a girl!)

Mini-Lesson part 1 : Articles

Some Advice First

Portuguese grammar is not too difficult to learn compared to other Romance languages. There are fewer "idiomatic irregularities," if you will, than there are in French or Italian. The syntax is also generally much closer to English.

It has been traditionally thought that building a basic knowledge of the grammar of a language is the first thing to do in order to learn well. I would say that being surrounded by the language in its original land is probably the best way to learn well - both in terms of pronunciation and the spoken language. But since most people don't get that opportunity (live abroad) quite readily, we have to figure out other ways to fill the gap, like using movies, audio tapes and listening to Portuguese or Brazilian music.

Reading children's literature is another way to begin a language, and as you pick up more vocabulary you could begin reading newspaper and magazine articles to familiarize yourself with Portuguese society and life. Many people say that being able to read and understand the newspaper is the ultimate test for average fluency.

Before long, let's get into some essential Portuguese grammar to start off with.

Part 1

O nome do rapaz é Miguel. The name of the boy is Miguel.
O nome da rapariga é Paula. The name of the girl is Paula.

Besides their names, you can see that the only difference between the above sentences is do rapaz and da rapariga. The do and da are shortened forms for de o and de a, which means exactly as in the English translation -- "of the".

Portuguese has only two genders for nouns -- masculine and feminine.

But, alas, we have o for masculine the, and a for feminine the. Easy enough. O rapaz, a rapariga. And then we have o nome -- masculine once again.

- É um rapaz! (It's a boy!)
- Não é! É uma rapariga! (No it isn't! It's a girl!)

This time we have the indefinite articles: um for the masculine a, and uma for the feminine a. To make it just a tiny bit more complicated, articles can be in plural, too.

Masculine: Feminine: English equivalent:

Um: Uma: A; One Singular

Uns: Umas: (Some); Ones Plural

O: A: The Singular

Os: As: The Plural

Plurals are easy to deal with. Just like in English, you simply add an "s" or "es" to make a noun plural. E.g. ovo (egg) and ovos (eggs), rapaz (boy) and rapazes (boys). If you want to say the boys, you must say os rapazes - so...
Remember, remember! All modifiers (articles and adjectives alike) must agree with the gender and plurality of the noun!

Ó Gente da Minha Terra ( Oh, people of my land ) - Mariza

É meu e vosso este fado
(This fate is yours and mine)
destino que nos amarra
(Destiny that binds us)
por mais que seja negado
(No matter how much it is denied)
às cordas de uma guitarra
(To the strings of a guitar)

Sempre que se ouve um gemido
(Whenever one hears a lament)
duma guitarra a cantar
(Of a guitar singing)
fica-se logo perdido
(One is instantly lost)
com vontade de chorar
(With a wish to cry)

Ó gente da minha terra
(Oh people of my land)
agora é que eu percebi
(It is now that I have understood)
esta tristeza que trago
(This sadness which I carry)
foi de vós que a recebi
(Was from you that I received it)

E pareceria ternura
(And it would seem tenderness)
se eu me deixasse embalar
(If I'd let myself to cradle)
era maior a amargura
(The bitterness would be bigger)
menos triste o meu cantar
(Less sorrowful/sad my singing)

Ó gente da minha terra
(Oh people of my land)

Ó gente da minha terra
(Oh people of my land)
agora é que eu percebi
(It is now that I have understood)
esta tristeza que trago
(This sadness which I carry)
foi de vós que a recebi
(Was from you that I received it)

Because i know it's still a bit difficult to understand completely all the content of the song, i've decided to simply just color differently some of the words which i think more adequate to be added to your vocabulary. The english translation will be followed as well.

Later i will talk more about this Portuguese-traditional music style that it's starting to be spread worldwide and it's known as FADO. This maybe isn't the best song to start with but my intention is just to start introducing some words to one's vocabulary. Fado is a very difficult musical genre to be understood because of its elaborated lyrics.

Lesson 5: Pronunciation part 3 (Consonants)

Letter Portuguese example English approximation Pronounced like this when

b basquetebol(basquetebol) bake as in English
_
c construido(constructed) case before a,o,u sounds like c in case
c cenoura (carrot) bicycle before e,i sounds c in bicycle
_
ch rocha (rock) shake always sounds like sh in shake
Chá ( tea )
_
d dedo (finger) duck
_
f faca(knife) feet
_
g gelo(ice) giant/pleasure before e,i
Gelo(ice)
g gato(cat) galaxy before a,o,u
Galo(cock/rooster )
gu guerra(war) game before e,i
Guitarra(Guitar)
Guardião(Guardian)
_
h história(history,story) always silent
_
j jovem(young-singular) pleasure/jazz
_
l lista(list) land
l possível(possible) edible at the end of a word or before a consonant; in this case, the "l" is pronuounced farther back in the mouth, the "el" in possível sounds like "ell" in fell; the "il" in inútil" sounds like ill. This all for European Portuguese, the brazilian variety "el" would sound like "oo" and "il" in inutil would sound "oo".
_
lh milhões(millions) million similar to Spanish or French "ll" or Italian "gl"
Prometi-lhe ( I promised him )
_
m muito(very, a lot) more when preceded by a vowel and followed by a consonant, fuses with the vowel to become a nasal sound like am, em, im, om
_
n caneta(pen) neat when preceded by a vowel and followed by a consonant, fuses with the vowel to become a nasal sound
_
nh tamanho(size) canyon similar to spanish "ñ" and italian "gn"
Amanhã ( Tomorrow )
_
p praia(beach) peace
_
q quente(hot) kite before "e" and "i", the "u" is not pronounced. Note: there are a few exceptions, for example, in tranquilo, the "u" is pronounced
qu qualidade(quality) queen before "a" and "o"
_
r Fevereiro(February) February
rir(to laugh) usually thrilled from the throat when at the beginning of a word, or appearing as "rr". Usually thrilled slightly from the throat, like the French "r" or even lighter.
rr carro(car)
_
s sete(seven) seat at the beginning or after a consonant
mesa(table) zebra between vowels
gatos(cats) shape at the end of a word( this is for European Portuguese); the Brazilian variety pronounces the "s" at the end of a word like cats
ss pássaro(bird) mess "ss" is always pronounced "s"
_
t turismo(tourism) toy
_
v visão(vision) vest
_
x peixe(fish) sheep most commonly pronounced like this
próximo(next) safe in very few words, e.g. trouxe(i brought)
exame(exam) lazy in some words such as existir(to exist), exercício(exercise), examinar(to examine)
táxi(taxi) taxi in a few words like fixo
_
z zoo(zoo) zen at the beginning or between vowels
insensatez (foolishness) meisure at the end of a word
_
ç cabeça(head) face/soup

The pronunciation plays an important role in every language, therefore, it's recommendable to master well this three lessons of vowels and consonant pronunciations before advancing to next level. Always remember, it will be a bit hard to memorize all the imput on this subject but that always comes with time and constant practice.

Of course, existing two varieties of Portuguese also doesn't help much, but despite some considerable differences in its pronunciation both are mutually understood by the majority of Portuguese speakers. Some places in Brazil have some European Portuguese pronunciation, like Rio de Janeiro, so no matter where you go you can be understood when speaking any of the existing varieties.

Lesson 4: Pronunciation part 2 (Nasal sound )

Nasal sounds are not as difficult to pronounce as you hear them in Portuguese or other languages like French, because they are not foreign to the English phonology at all. All words with a -ng suffix in English are nasalized, such as bring, hang, and song, same for the sound of (Ng) in Cantonese.

The only difficulty lies in pronouncing the vowel or diphthong correctly and then adding the -ng sound to make it nasalized. Some Portuguese nasal sounds have no equivalent in English. When using the English approximations below, make sure to add the -ng sound for the nasal effect.

LETTER PORTUGUESE EXAMPLE ENGLISH APPROXIMATIONS PRONOUNCED WHEN
_
ã maçã (apple) answer as in British english when it is alone and not followed by another vowel
_
ãe mãe (mother) tying
_
ão / am cão (dog ) / falam (they speak) town -am is only pronounced this way when it is at the end of a word
_
õe milhões (millions) boing but a little slower
_
an/am tanto(so much)/também(also) answer as in British english anywhere, except at the end of the word
_
on/om som(sound)/redondo(round) onto
_
en/em presidente(president)/Sempre(always) enter anywhere, except at the end of the word
_
em bem(well) tying when at the end of the word
_
in/im assim(thus,like this) seen

Examples for the more unsual sounds:
(ã)= Não ( No ) = pronounced like nan-oo
(ãe)= Mãe ( Mother )= pronounced like mying
(ão)= Cão ( dog ),same pronounciation as (am) at the end of the word = pronounced like cown
(em)at the end of the word = Bem ( well )