This lesson will teach you something that so many Brazilians get wrong every day. This is going to make a big difference in your written Portuguese. Especially if you use or intend to use Portuguese at work, you should learn this once and for all. It is simple. There really is no reason to get it wrong.
Let’s see how you say 2 months ago versus how you say in 2 months in Portuguese
1. How to say: 2 months ago
Exemplo 1:
Tony: Quando você foi ao Brasil?
Carla: Eu fui ao Brasil há dois meses.
Or
Eu fui ao Brasil dois meses atrás.
Translation from Portuguese to English:
Tony: When did you go to Brazil?
Carla: I went to Brazil two months ago.
So you see that:
- Há 2 meses = 2 meses atrás = 2 months ago
Exemplo 2:
Carla: Você tem falado com a Camila?
Tony: Nós almoçamos juntos há umas três semanas.
Or:
Nós almoçamos juntos umas três semanas atrás.
See how we say “about 3 weeks ago”? This is useful.
Translation from Portuguese to English:
Carla: Have you been in touch with Camila?
Tony: We had lunch together about three weeks ago.
Observation: The grammar says that it is incorrect to say “há dois anos atrás”. This is because both “há” and “atrás” mean ago. So you are saying the same thing twice. In everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, however, people say that all the time.
2. How to say: in 2 months
Exemplo 1:
Carla: Tony, quando você vai ao Brasil?
Tony: Eu vou ao Brasil daqui a dois meses.
Translation from Portuguese to English:
Carla: Tony, when are you going to Brazil?
Tony: I am going to Brazil in two months.
Exemplo 2:
Carla: Você vê a Camila com frequência?
Tony: Mais ou menos. Nós vamos almoçar juntos daqui a umas três semanas.
Translation from Portuguese to English:
Carla: Do you see Camila often?
Tony: More or less. We are going to have lunch together in about three weeks.
Keep this in mind:
- Há 2 anos = 2 years ago.
- Daqui a 2 anos = in 2 years, 2 years in the future
What confuses so many people is the difference between:
- há: From the verb Haver, it is used to indicate elapsed or past time
- a: preposition
Because the “h” is silent in Portuguese, both “há” and “a” sound exactly the same. But to write good Portuguese you need to know the difference between them. Do not underestimate the impact of this seemingly small language detail on the quality of your written Portuguese.
Here is the video for this lesson:
Other Lessons You Might Like:
Learn how to say: I have been living here for two years.
- Using the verb Haver: Moro aqui há 2 anos. Befriend the Verb Haver
- Using the Verb Fazer: Faz 2 anos: Use the Verb Fazer with Time
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