What is the difference between este, esse, isso in Portuguese? And how about aquele and aquilo? These are demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese. The difference between these pronouns and how to use them is a common question among those learning Portuguese.
In this Portuguese lesson you will learn:
- 20 examples showing how to use the demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese in different situations;
- the differences between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese;
- the difference between what the Portuguese grammar says and everyday Brazilian Portuguese;
- how to use the demonstrative pronouns in business communications;
- how to use the demonstrative pronouns to refer to time;
- tips to avoid common mistakes;
- all the contractions between prepositions and the demonstrative pronouns.
At the end of this Portuguese lesson you will be able to use the demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese with confidence.
The basics about Demonstrative Pronouns
I am a big fan of understanding the basics before diving into the details because it makes the journey ahead easier.
So, what is a demonstrative pronoun?
As the book Ponto de Encontro puts it, demonstrative pronouns are how you point out and identify people and things.
In other words, a demonstrative pronoun is a word that is used to refer to (point to) something specific (a person, an animal, an object) within what you are saying.
You have the following demonstrative pronouns in English: this, that, these, those.
As you can see, the demonstrative pronouns can be singular or plural. In addition, in Portuguese they can be masculine or feminine, and may be gender neutral.
These pronouns can refer to items in space or time.
For instance, when I say that I am going to Brazil this year, the demonstrative pronoun this tells you that I am talking about the current year. In other words, it places what I am talking about in time.
On the other hand, when I ask you who that person is, the demonstrative pronoun that refers to someone who is not close to us at the moment of this conversation. Therefore, it refers to the person in space.
Este, Esse, Isso, Aquele: Demonstrative Pronouns in Portuguese
The demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese are in the table below for your reference.
Most importantly, in this Portuguese lesson I will show you 20 examples using the demonstrative pronouns in different situations. After that, you will be able to use them with confidence.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neutral | English |
| Este (sing.)
Estes (plural) |
Esta (sing.)
Estas (plural) |
Isto | This/these
Used to refer to nouns (people, animals, objects) that are closer to you in space or time |
| Esse (sing.)
Esses (plural) |
Essa (sing.)
Essas (plural) |
Isso | This/these, That/those
Use these pronouns to refer to nouns (people, animals, objects) that are not relatively close to you or that are closer to the other person than to you |
| Aquele (sing.)
Aqueles (plural) |
Aquela (sing.)
Aquelas (plural) |
Aquilo | That/those
Use these pronouns to refer to nouns (people, animals, objects) that are more distant from you and the other person |
How to use Este, Esse, Aquele in Portuguese
Example 1:
Sara is holding her phone (therefore, the phone is closer to her) and telling her friend:
- Este telefone é ótimo. = This phone is great.
Telefone is a masculine, singular noun. The phone is closer to her than to her friend. That is why she says Este.
If Sara had two phones in her hands, she would say: Estes telefones são ótimos.
Example 2:
João is using a pen and thinking:
- Esta caneta é enorme. = This pen is huge.
Caneta is a feminine, singular noun. He has the pen with him. Therefore, he uses Esta.
The plural would be: Estas canetas são enormes.
Portuguese Grammar vs. Real-life Brazilian Portuguese
Is this really how we speak in Brazil? Well, it’s not how I speak. I would say esse/esses or essa/essas in the examples above, and no one in Brazil would question it.
The difference between ESTE/ESSE, ESTA/ESSA, and ISTO/ISSO is frequently ignored in spoken Portuguese in Brazil.
Spoken Brazilian Portuguese is a very lively, dynamic language. In my view, we often simplify the grammar by adopting language habits such as this one, that is, ignoring the difference between este and esse.
However, if you are going to write documents for business or school, you should know the grammatically correct manner to use the demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese.
Examples using ESSE, AQUELE in Portuguese
Example 3:
Paulo is with his girlfriend Clarissa. He asks her:
- Essa camiseta é nova? = Is this top new?
Camiseta is a feminine, singular noun. He is talking about Clarissa’s top which is closer to her than it is to him. Therefore, he says essa.
The plural would be: Essas camisetas são novas? = Are these tops new?
Example 4:
Bianca is having coffee with her friend Melissa, who is reading a book. Bianca asks:
- Esse livro é bom? = Is this book good?
Livro is a masculine, singular noun. The book is closer to her friend than it is to Bianca. Therefore Bianca says esse.
The plural would be: Esses livros são bons? = Are these books good?
Example 5:
Antônio is walking down street with his friend Clóvis. He points to a restaurant at the other side of the street and says:
- Aquele restaurante é novo. = That restaurant is new.
Restaurante is a masculine, singular noun. The restaurant is not by Antônio or his friend. Therefore he says Aquele.
The plural is: Aqueles restaurantes são novos. = Those restaurants are new.
Example 6:
I am reminiscing about the fabulous days that my friend Carol and I spent at Morro de São Paulo. This trip was a long time ago. Therefore, I tell Carol:
- Aquela viagem foi maravilhosa. = That trip was wonderful.
Viagem is a feminine, singular noun. The trip is far away in time as it happened a long time ago. This is why I say aquela.
Here is the plural version: Aquelas viagens foram maravilhosas.
Portuguese vs. English when you do not state the object
Notice that in all the examples above the noun (object, person, animal) is stated together with the pronoun.
- Este telefone
- Esta caneta
- Essa camista
- Esse livro
- Aquele restaurante
- Aquela viagem
In other words, all the sentences above have:
- demonstrative pronoun + noun (object, person, animal)
Is it always like this? No, not really. If it is clear what you are referring to, you don’t have to mention the noun.
This happens, for example, if the noun has just been mentioned. Then you don’t have to repeat it because everyone knows what you are talking about.
Similarly, you also do not need to repeat the object in English. However, there is an important difference here between Portuguese and English as I show you in examples 7, 8, and 9.
Example 7:
Carol and I are window shopping at the mall. We stop to check out a shop’s window. There are two dresses there. I point to the red dress in front of us and say:
- Adorei esse vestido. = I love that dress.
I said esse because the dress is not closer to me than to Carol, and it is not far enough from us to use aquele. As you can see, this relative, right?
Carol, however, prefers the other dress on the other side. So, she says:
- Eu prefiro aquele. = I prefer that one.
Because it is clear that we are talking about the dresses on the shop window, Carol does not repeat the word dress. The sentence sounds more natural this way.
Similarly, we also do not need to repeat the noun in English. We don’t need to say “I prefer that dress”. Instead, we usually say “I prefer that one”.
The difference between English and Portuguese here is that we do not use the word “one” in Portuguese in these situations like we do in English. In Portuguese you just say: “I prefer that.”
Example 8:
Still thinking about Carol and I window shopping. What if Carol wants to talk about a skirt after my comment about the dress? In this case, she will need to tell me what she is talking about. Otherwise, it will not be clear to me. We would have:
Luciana: Esse vestido tá lindo. = That dress is very beautiful.
Carol: Eu adorei aquela saia. = I love that skirt.
In this last sentence, did you notice that I used adorei in the past tense, but translated as love in the present tense? I explain it in this Portuguese lesson.
Example 9:
Carol and I stop at a different shop. We are looking at sandals. Carol says:
- Que sandálias lindas. Você prefere essa amarela ou aquela azul?= Beautiful sandals. Do you prefer that yellow one or that blue one?
Because Carol has just made it clear that she is talking about sandals, she doesn’t repeat the word sandal.
The use of essa and aquela indicate that the yellow sandal is closer to us than the blue one.
The translation in English doesn’t sound so natural. I’d probably say “the yellow one” and “the blue one”. But this lesson is about demonstrative pronouns and the sentence in Portuguese is how I would say it.
Again, notice that in English you say “that yellow one” and in Portuguese we just say “that yellow”. This is important. It will help you avoid a common mistake, such as saying something like “aquela uma amarela”, which is incorrect Portuguese.
Important to know about ESTE, ESSE AQUELE
Este, esse, and aquele have a feminine and a plural form. These pronouns agree in gender and number with the item (object, person, or animal) that they refer to.
On the other hand… ↓
How to use Isto, Isso, Aquilo in Portuguese
Isto, isso, aquilo: These pronouns do not change with gender or number. That is, there is no feminine version and no plural version of them.
The most important thing to remember is: These pronouns are never followed by a noun (person, animal, object).
Remember this and you will avoid the most common mistake I see with the use of demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese.
Similarly to the other pronouns:
- Isto refers to something that is closer in space or time to you
- Isso refers to something that is closer to the other person
- Aquilo refers to something that is more distant from both of you
Use isso, isso, aquilo to refer to a general idea
Example 10:
I get home after work and find my husband building something in the living room.
Luciana: O que é isso? = What is that?
Carl: Isto é uma mesa nova que acabou de chegar. = This is a new table that has just arrived.
Let me say this again: The pronouns in this example are used according to the grammar. But in real life in Brazil, Carl would likely have used isso in his answer.
Avoid this common mistake
Do not say, “O que é isso coisa?” This is incorrect Portuguese because – remember this – isto, isso, and aquilo are never followed by a noun.
Also avoid asking, “O que é essa coisa?” While this isn’t technically wrong, it usually doesn’t sound natural.
The natural way to ask this in Portuguese is: O que é isso?
Example 11:
Luciana: Hoje estou com raiva do mundo.
Carol: Não diga isso! O que aconteceu?
Translation:
Luciana: Today I feel angry at the world.
Carol: Don’t say that. What happened?
Example 12:
Heleno is hanging out with a couple of friends. He sees something strange in the sky and says:
- Gente, o que é aquilo no céu? = Guys, what is that in the sky?
How to use Este, Esse in Business Letters
When writing an email or a business letter, you use este/esta to refer to your organization and use esse/essa to refer to the organization you are writing to.
Example 13:
I am replying to an email that I got from a company inquiring about Portuguese lessons for their staff:
“Esta escola tem mais de 10 anos de experiência ensinando português por vídeoconferência. Tenho certeza que essa empresa ficará satisfeita como nossas aulas.”
Translation:
This school has over 10 years of experience teaching Portuguese via video meetings. I’m sure that your company will be happy with our classes.
How to use the Demonstrative Pronouns with Time/Dates
In relation to time:
- Use este/esta to refer to present time.
- Use esse/essa to refer to time in the past or in the future.
- Use aquele/aquela to refer to time that is more distant in the past or in the future.
With that in mind, we have:
- Esta semana = the current week
- Este mês = the current month
- Este ano = the current year
If you want to refer to another day in the past or in the future, you can say:
- Aquele dia = That day
- Aquele ano = That year
It is common in business communications to use the expression: nesta data. Literally it means: on this date. Or: today.
Nesta = em esta. I talk about contractions of prepositions and demonstrative pronouns ahead.
Example 14:
Luciana: Quando você vai ao Brasil? Essa semana que vem?
Carol: Não. Viajo esta semana, na sexta-feira.
Translation:
Luciana: When are you going to Brazil? This coming week?
Carol: No. I travel this week, on Friday.
Example 15:
Em 2017, eu fiz duas viagens maravilhosas. Aquele foi um ano fantástico. = In 2017, I took two wonderful trips. That was a fantastic year.
Contractions of Prepositions and Demonstrative Pronouns in Portuguese
I love contractions of articles and prepositions in Portuguese. Have you ever heard that? Nope? Me neither 😉
However, to speak awesome Portuguese you have to use the contractions as they are not optional. So, here we go.
The demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese form contractions with the prepositions de, em, and a:
- de + este = deste
- de + estes = destes
- de + esta = desta
- de + estas = destas
- de + esse = desse
- de + esses = desses
- de + essa = dessa
- de + essas = dessas
- de + aquele = daquele
- de + aqueles = daqueles
- de + aquela = daquela
- de + aquelas = daquelas
- de + isto = disto
- de + isso = disso
- de + aquilo = daquilo
- em + este = neste
- em + estes = nestes
- em + esta = nesta
- em + estas = nestas
- em + esse = nesse
- em + esses = nesses
- em + essa = nessa
- em + essas = nessas
- em + aquele = naquele
- em + aqueles = naqueles
- em + aquela = naquela
- em + aquelas = naquelas
- em + isto = nisto
- em + isso = nisso
- em + aquilo = naquilo
Only aquele and its variations contract with the preposition a:
- a + aquele = àquele
- a + aqueles = àqueles
- a + aquela = àquela
- a + aquelas = àquelas
- a + aquilo = àquilo
The contractions are mandatory, not optional.
Let me show you how these contractions work.
Example 16:
Let’s go back to the example in which I am reminiscing about my trip to Morro de São Paulo with Carol.
- Carol, como é o nome daquela pousada onde a gente ficou em Morro de São Paulo? = Carol, what is the name of that inn where we stayed in Morro de São Paulo?
Because I am talking about something that happened in the past and these memories seem so far way in time now, I am using aquela.
In English you say: The name of that inn. In Portuguese, it would be: O nome de aquela pousada. However, the contraction is mandatory. Therefore, I need to contract: de + aquela = daquela.
Example 17:
Bianca is at the cashier at the bookstore to pay for a book. The person next to her, at the other cashier, sees the book and comments:
- Eu gostei muito desse livro. Espero que você também goste. = I really liked this book. I hope you like it too.
Because in Portuguese the verb Gostar requires the use of the preposition de, I have the contraction: de + esse = desse.
Example 18:
Clóvis and Antônio are having drinks. Clóvis mentions an argument between Antônio and a common friend. Antônio says:
- Não quero falar disso. Não quero mais pensar nisso. = I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to think about that anymore.
The contractions here are:
- de + disso = disso
- em + isso = nisso
Example 19:
I am talking about my trip to Africa. It was a long flight, and I was exhausted when we got to the hotel. I say:
- Àquela altura, eu só queria cair na cama e dormir o resto do dia. = At that point, I just wanted to go to bed and sleep for the rest of the day.
The contraction is: a + aquela = àquela.
Example 20:
Carl and I are deciding where to go for dinner. I say:
- Por que não vamos àquele mesmo restaurante onde jantamos na semana passada? Eu adorei a comida. = Why don’t we go to that same restaurant where we had dinner last week? I loved the food.
I need the preposition “a” with the verb Ir in the sentence above. Therefore, I have the contraction: a + aquele = àquele.
I hope this Portuguese lesson will help you use the demonstrative pronouns in Portuguese with confidence. It is all right if you still make mistakes. As you use the language, new situations may raise new questions. That’s how we learn.
The secret to learn any language and speak with confidence is practice. Lots of practice. We offer Portuguese lessons via video meetings. One-on-one lessons are the best way to get the most out of each class because it is all about you. You learn at your pace and spend your class time practicing entirely with a native speaker.
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This Portuguese lesson was originally published in 2012. It has been fully updated to include additional explanations and examples, as well as a video lesson.
Óla, Luciana 🙂 ,
Tudo bem? I am from Germany, and I started learning Portuguese three months ago, using an app. So far things are going quite well. Except, I sometimes struggle with grammar patterns/ rules, which is probably normal. 😀
However, I’ve been able to understand most of them, simply by coming across and repeating sentences over and over again.
Yet, there is one issue I can’t really wrap my head around: I learned that if I want to know the location of an establishment, building or an object, I would have to ask for example “Onde é o restaurante?”. Now I sometimes have to say/ can use “Onde fica o restaurante?”
Now, I have learned that “ficar” translates to “stay” (e.g. “Fico aqui.”) or “keep” (e.g. “Fico com o gato.”)
Why is it that “fica” is used as “ser” in my first example? Is it because it translates to something like “Where does the restaurant remain?”?
Obrigada pela tua resposta! 🙂
Best regards,
Jules
Oi, Jules! I am so glad that you have found my blog to support you in your Portuguese-learning journey! I have a lesson that might answer your question: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/4-ways-to-ask-where-is-in-portuguese/
Let me know 🙂
Oi Luciana. 🙂 Desculpa pela minha reposta de tarde, mas eu quero dizer obrigada pela tua boa resposta. Você ajudou me muito. Muito gosto de teu website. Você faz que eu entendo tudo. 🙂 (Hope that’s a proper way to say that 😀 ) Hoje eu sou nos 127 dias em Português (hope to be fluent in a year or so 😀 ). 🙂 Espero você está bem. 🙂
Why is it “Aquele homem é alto.” And not “Esse homem é alto.” ?
I don’t see this example in the lesson. If it is from the lesson, what number is it, please? Both sentences are correct. The use of aquele or esse will depend a lot on the context, meaning the position of the tall man in relation to the people in the conversation.
Eu também sou professora (de francês e espanhol) e reconheço que você é uma professora maravilhosa. Parabéns!
Muito obrigada! Eu pensei em você hoje mesmo. Não me esqueci da aula de conversação em grupo. Desculpe por não ter feito isso ainda. São os desafios de ser uma solopreneur.
Você é poliglota!! <3
I simply loved you explanation of demonstrative…. I have been learning for over a year and these were always challenging….
Fico feliz de ouvir isso 🙂 Muito obrigada!
Muito obrigada for this clear, lucid explanation of demonstrative Portuguese pronouns! I have always found the demonstrative pronouns in the Romance languages to be most confusing; and the rules differ JUST ENOUGH in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish to DRIVE THE LANGUAGE LEARNER INSANE! 🙂
This is just one of those grammatical phenomena that “work my last nerve”
and your explanation helps us all to MAINTAIN A LITTLE MORE SANITY.
Again, MUITO OBRIGADA for your excellent pedagogy for us non-native learners of the Portuguese language. Anyone who can explain demonstrative pronouns
deserves abundant applause! 🙂
You are too kind. Muito obrigada ♥ Now, allow me to say that finding the rules confusing in French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish is such a beautiful and amazing kind of confusion 🙂
In your example (…….going to Brasil this year ), the word “this” is not a pronoun, as this is used instead of a noun at all ……….
In Portuguese it is a demonstrative pronoun. In English we separate demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns. In Portuguese we do not. I decided not to go into that level of detail in the lesson.
Muito obrigado Luciana! Agradeço sua explicação. Esse assunto sempre me confundiu.
Que bom que pude ajudar 🙂
Am I too late to ask a question? It’s about the use of aquilo.
The way I think of it is that aquilo means ‘that [thing]’. So in the examples you’ve given ‘O que e aquilo na ceu?’ means ‘What is that [thing] in the sky?’
But what if somebody wants to know ‘What are those [things]?’. Imagine a mother coming into a child’s untidy bedroom, pointing at a pile of things that she can’t see exactly what they are, and demanding to know ‘what are those?’
Would she use ‘aquilo’ or ‘aqueles’? Wouldn’t aqueles only work if she knew what the item was? I’m confused
You are totally right thinking about Aquilo as “that thing”. This is how I teach it. In the case of the mother who sees many things, she can still say “aquilo”. Remember that Aquilo does not have a plural form. Or she could say “O que é aquele monte de coisas?”
Hey, I’m from brazil and in this situation I think I would just say “o que é isso?”, even if they are holding more than one thing. O são aqueles would also work, we would understand, but I think “o que é isso” is more common, even for the plural
Obrigado pela explicação! Me ajudou muito. Uma coisa que ainda me confunde é se é possível usar ‘este’ ou ‘esse’ sem ter que colocar um substantivo depois – seria correto dizer ‘Este é grande’ (ao invés de ‘Isso é grande’)? E se sim, seria possível falar sem usar ‘isto’/’isso’/’aquilo’?
Desde já agradeço!
Ótima pergunta! Você pode usar Este ou Esse sem um substantivo depois. Vejamos um exemplo: eu estou numa loja de roupas e tenho duas camisetas nas minhas mãos. Minha amiga pergunta o tamanho das camisetas. Eu mostro uma e digo: “Essa é grande”. Depois mostro a outra e digo: “Essa é pequena”.
Eu posso dizer isso porque nós sabemos que estou falando das camisetas. O substantivo “camiseta” está implícito.
Você tem uma situação em mente? Se tiver, escreva aqui e eu ajudo a identificar se está correto.
Obrigado de novo por responder 🙂 Na verdade, eu não estava pensando em alguma situação específica, só é que eu tenho a tendência de usar ‘isso’ demais, uso até em situações que eu devo usar ‘este’, porque eu notei que brasileiros usam tanto esta palavara. Que não se usa nunca antes dum substantivo já me ajudou evitar esses erros, mas minha namorada (brasileira) me contou que pode usar ‘este’/’esta’ sozinho (sem substantivo depois), e isso me confundia um pouco porque também pode usar ‘isso’ nestas situações, e o que eu quero saber é se tem alguma regra pra saber quais são as situações nos quais tenha de usar ‘isso’ e quais ‘este’. Parece que só pode usar ‘isso’ pra falar duma coisa ‘abstrato’, mas se usa ‘isso’ OU ‘este’/’esta’ pra falar de coisas ‘concretas’ (em inglês nós chamamos substantivos de ‘abstract’ e ‘concrete’, não sei se se usam assim em português), você acha que isso poderia ser a distinção?
Nós usamos Este/Esse quando temos um substantivo em mente. Nos exemplos que te dei, mesmo quando eu não falo o substantivo, as pessoas na conversa sabem que o Este/Esse se refere a uma coisa específica. Tem coisas na língua que a gente observa por um tempo e passar a usar corretamente de forma intuitiva. Vai acontecer com você, tenho certeza!
Wouldn’t it be ‘esta’ both times, since you’re holding the shirts in your hand?
In the example with the new shirt, it is the guy talking about the woman’s shirt, so he says essa. Is that what you are talking about?
Wonderful – reading the explanation makes it seem easy. I hope as I speak it comes out as easily as it seems!
Wonderful site … lots of great lessons!
Thank you
Muito obrigada, Beverly! A great way to practice and keep your Portuguese flowing with ease is to have a regular practice. The only way to really learn a language is by speaking it. We offer one-on-one lessons via Skype: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/shop/trial-session/
obrigado amiga. eu sou claro agora. Mas eu quero saber Diferença entre naquele e nesse.
Naquele = in that. It is the contraction between EM + AQUELE.
Nesse = in this. It is the contraction between EM + ESSE.
I have a lesson on the demonstrative pronouns: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/difference-between-este-and-esse-portuguese/
hi Luciana… when i click the link i logged to the same page mean current page.. can you check the link.
Sorry about that. I fixed the link, tested, and it worked. Please let me know if it misbehaves again.
Thank you for clearing this up.
Obrigada por ler e comentar!
Muito obrigado. Tudo claro agora!
Que bom!
Boa Tarde, sou estudante da língua portuguesa, por causa disto, peço para a senhora que perdoe meus erros gramáticos. Então, simplesmente queria sinalar para você que nos gráficos de “Essa” “Is this flower for me” etc. Infelizmente devo sinalar para você que tem um erro. “Essa, Esse, Isso” é That not this. This é só Esta, Este, Isto etc. Alem disso eu queria agradecer para você este artigo. Eu moro nos Estados Unidos e minhas línguas nativas são inglês e espanhol. Então é muito incrível para mim como os brasileiros ignoram este é esse etc. Geralmente por o que eu vi a maioria das pessoas falam esse/essa para tudo. Em espanhol se respeita totalmente esta regra gramática. Então é engraçado para mim como os Brasileiros dizem “Esse ano, essa semana, vamos mudar esse país etc.”
Obrigada, Cristian. Realmente, no dia a dia o brasileiro ignora a diferença entre este e esse. Em documentos profissionais escritos, é recomendável usar os pronomes corretamente.
Obrigado pela simplicidade e a pela clareza. Sou natural de Senegal e estou aqui há pouco tempo. Estou melhorando meu nível de português cada dia.
Muito obrigada pelo comentário e por ler o blog, Serigne!
Muito obrigado. Esta alguma coisa que eu não sabia antes agora.
Que bom, Daniel! Obrigada por ler o blog e pelo comentário.
Excellent, thank you! This was the missing explanation I needed.
Que bom 🙂 Obrigada pelo comentário!
Thanks Luciana.
Am Senegalese,I arrived in Brazil on april 2014. Almost one year, am still living in a little city named Nova Araça in the south(RS). As there is no school here for foreigns people to learn portugese.I bought books and dictionaries.Sometimes also i tried to get some courses on the internet,and one day i saw one of your videos on youtube. I followed many lessons in your blog ( STREETSMARTBRAZIL.COM/BLOG). I learn lot of things important here,and my portugese is really improved. I try to practice but people here speak very fast…You are great,thanks a lot
Oi, Mamadou! Muito obrigada for your message. It makes me happy to hear that my lessons and the articles on my blog have helped you learn Portuguese.
I understand that it is challenging to learn a foreign language even when you live in the target country. The key is persistence and patience.
Desejo sucesso!
Thank you so much!
De nada 🙂 Obrigada pelo seu comentário!
I amgoing to Fortaleza in January and I just started learning Portuguese six months ago. I still can not understand my friends posts on facebook and Bing translator does not always offer correct translation. Is there another translation service available?
Not really. We Brazilians use a lot of idiomatic expressions in everyday communication. Automated translators are not good at these yet. This might be why you are having a hard time understanding your friends’ posts.
The best thing really is to take lessons to learn the language. Look for lessons with professional instructors. It makes all the difference to learn by speaking with someone who can give you the right feedback at the right time. Also look for someone who uses good materials, so you learn Portuguese in a communicative and practical way. Visit our homepage to learn about the lessons that we offer: https://streetsmartbrazil.com
Obrigada por visitar nosso blog!
Really!!! Nós não usamos assim,como diz essas imagens,mas ok,dá para ter uma noção,mas nós não usamos essas palavras igual diz nas imagens,mas eu entendo,que o português não é uma língua fácil,então parabéns, dá pra ter noção..
Prezada Luciana,
Sua explicação é muito boa. Em geral, os falantes nativos de português não dominam muito essa diferença. No entanto, sugiro que esclareças também sobre o uso de ESTE e ESSE que gera maior confusão. Me refiro ao uso discursivo dos pronomes para indicar aquilo a que já foi referido (ESSE), aquilo que vai ser referido ou dêitico (ESTE comentário) e, no caso de dois itens diferentes já terem sido mencionados, usa-se ESSE (“the former”) para indicar o primeiro item mencionado e ESTE (“the latter”) para indocar o segundo e último item.
Obrigada, Marta. Boa sugestão para uma aula futura.
Realmente,não ligamos muito para estas diferenças… De este,esse… Na verdade pra mim,é a mesma coisa…
É, no dia a dia nós brasileiros ignoramos essa difereça. É mais prático assim.
If you wana say to a male are you crazy? can you say voce este louco?
Oi, Franklin! No, you cannot say that. When you say “Are you crazy?” you are using the verb Estar. So you say “Você está louco?”.
“Está” from the verb “Estar” and “este, esta” as demonstrative pronouns are different words. Estar = verb to be. Este, esta = this. I hope this helps.
Glad you liked it, Greguinho!
Hi, there! I am writing to you to congat. for the awesomeness blog and thanks for the contens you been posting.
My name Is Love Edson Jake and I am Angolan I am a Teacher I I teach Portuguese Language to many Foreighner People who come here to work.
I would like to be in touch with you to change some exoerience.
Your Sincerely:
Love
Obrigada pelo comentário, Love. Muito prazer.
Thanks for the excellent explanations and examples, Luciana. Super helpful!