How has 2016 been treating you? What have you been thinking about? How have you been feeling?

In this video lesson, I will show you a language structure that we tend to use when we are catching up with friends. I will show you how to say what you have been doing or how you have been feeling.

I will explain the structure in a simple way. You will get this, even if you are not crazy about grammar.

Say What You Have Been Doing in Portuguese

Observe the dialogue and the translation below it, and compare the verbs in bold in both versions.

Dialogue

Sueli: E aí, o que você tem feito ultimamente?

Vânia: Tenho trabalhado bastante. E você, o que tem feito?

Sueli: Nada demais. Tenho me sentido muito cansada.

Translation:

Sueli: So, what have you been doing lately?

Vânia: I have been working a lot. How about you, what have you been doing?

Sueli: Not much. I have been feeling very tired.

In English, you call this tense the Present Perfect Continuous. In Portuguese, we call it Pretérito Perfeito Composto do Indicativo.

But let’s not get all hung up on these complicated tense names. Let’s look at this in a practical way, and you will see that it is easy to say what you have been doing in Portuguese.

Compare the structures in English and in Portuguese:

Example 1:

Eng:   I     have been    working         a lot.

Port: Eu      tenho       trabalhado    muito.

Example 2:

Eng: Paula    has been    traveling      to different places.

Port: Paula        tem           viajado        a lugares diferentes.

In short

This parallel will always be true. So, to say what you have been doing in Portuguese, do the following:

1. Use the present tense of verb Ter in place of “have been” in English
2. Use the past participle of the main verb instead of the present continuous (-ing) in English

Done 🙂

The dialogue below has additional examples:

Dialogue

Sueli: O que você tem feito?

Vânia: Eu tenho saído muito com meus amigos.

Sueli:  Aonde vocês têm ido?

Vânia: Temos ido ao cinema.

Sueli:  Eu tenho passado os fins de semana em casa.

Vânia: Fazendo o quê?

Sueli:  Tenho lido ótimos livros.

Translation:

Sueli: What have you been up to?

Vânia: I have been going out a lot with my friends.

Sueli:  Where have you guys been going?

Vânia: We’ve been going to the movies.

Sueli:  I’ve been spending the weekends at home.

Vânia: Doing what?

Sueli:  I’ve been reading great books.

E aí, o que você tem feito? Tem praticado português?

The best way to learn how to speak a language is by speaking it. Books, videos, and software are all useful, but they can only do so much for you. Book a trial lesson with us To speak Portuguese with confidence, you need to practice speaking.

Book a trial lesson with us to learn and practice Portuguese with friendly and professional Brazilian instructors. Just imagine how wonderful it will feel to speak Portuguese with confidence.