This is a short post, but I believe that you will find it very useful.
In English we sometimes use the verb “to get” when we mean “to buy”:
- I am going to get tickets for the concert.
In a previous lesson, we saw that the verb “pegar” is often translated as “to get”. This leads English speakers to use the verb “pegar” to indicate “to buy”. In Portuguese it does not work this way.
When you mean “to buy”, use the verb “comprar”.
Examples:
- I am going to get my ticket for the concert
- = Vou comprar meu ingresso para o show
- I am going to Brazil on vacation. I need to get my ticket soon.
- = Vou ao Brazil de férias. Preciso comprar logo minha passagem.
- Sandra got the new album by Céu.
- = Sandra comprou o novo CD de Céu.
- What an awesome t-shirt. Where did you get it?
- = Que camiseta maneira. Onde você a comprou?
———————
Photo by Rodrigo Franca on Flickr under the Creative Commons license.
—————-
Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.
Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent. See what our customers are saying.
vamos a pegar una de 5 wachoo
I am still confused by pegar, levar, and conseguir.
Pegar = to take or to pick up.
Levar = to bring or to lead
Conseguir= to get.
Tomar = to take.
I guess comprar is to buy or to purchase.
Do you have lessons here explaining to differences of these four verbs and if the same which is the most common usage in South Brazil ( Rio Grande do Sul ) thanks .
Oi, Michael. Often times different words translate as the same, but are used differently. This is what causes confusion. My recommendation is to write down the sentences and the situations in which you see the verb used. If you use the verb and someone corrects you, then great, you have learned a little more! Always write down what the verb means and what the context is. The context matters. If you have a teacher, create several examples using the verbs in context and go over it with your teacher. Simple translations will not help much. For example, tomar can mean to take something from someone or to drink a liquid or to take medicine. If you translate as just to take, it will cause confusion later because it cannot be used in all the situations in which you use the verb to take in English. Desejo sucesso 🙂
Agreed the contextual differences is the most difficult part of language learning after understanding the different phonemes.
Pegar= to actually grab an item. get that plate for me.
Tomar= still a bit confused by this one but I see it used for tomar um banho ou cafe. eat and bath, etc. but not almocar or jantar.
Levar= to take there..=Take her to the airport.
Trazer= to bring here= to bring it back. =Bring her home.
Conseguir= to get something but not that moment. =Get some groceries.
Another confusion for me was na/no vs ao/a . the pattern I have noticed is that
Na/no is when a person is already there vs ao/a on the way there.
Para o/a ( for a / to a)seems to be also apply to the above examples and to objects like uma passagem para o show. Para a/o seems more of a catch all and probably the most common in lazy ie slang speech ( pra/pro).
I hate when language learning sites that downplay the importance of grammar at least at the basic level because as adults we have one (or more) languages to fall back on as a frame of reference and allow easier understanding of a new language.
Oi, Michael
Great notes, thank you! I’d like to offer a few suggestions here.
Tomar: Yes, we have the expressions Tomar banho (to take a shower) and Tomar café (to have a coffee or to have breakfast).
I have a video lesson on Tomar conta de algo = To take care of something. Check it out here: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/take-care-careful-say-portuguese/ The lesson offers good tips on related expressions.
Tomar also means to take something from someone. For example, let’s say that two kids – Pedrinho and Aninha – are having a fight because Pedrinho tomou o brinquedo de Aninha (Pedrinho took Aninha’s toy from her).
You are right on target with Levar and Trazer. I also have a lesson on the topic: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/trazer-vs-levar-do-i-bring-or-do-i-take-differences-use-video/
Conseguir: I’m not sure that I agree with the example that you provided. Think about Conseguir as to be able to do or achieve something. For example: Yesterday I had too much to do and eu não consegui terminar meu dever de casa (… I wasn’t able to finish my homework).
Here’s another example: Tomorrow I have class until 8pm and I have a dinner party to attend at 8:30pm. I don’t think that eu vou conseguir chegar ao jantar na hora (I will be able to get to dinner on time).
Na, no = in, on, at. So you’re right to think about it as indicating location where something is.
I love these conversations!