I always enjoy noticing differences between Portuguese and English. Observing the differences helps my English.

Today I will show you three verbs that we have in Portuguese but you don’t have in English. This is one of those rare occasions in which we need fewer words to say something in Portuguese than we need in English.

Because these are common verbs, it’s a good idea to have them available in your brain for easy retrieval when you need them.

1. Ventar

As a speaker of English as a second language, I’ve often found myself searching my brain for the verb Ventar in English. Many times I got stuck at that point in a conversation.

Let’s start with the noun:

• O vento = wind

Then we have the verb:

• Ventar = “to wind”

Yes, it’s a verb! It has all the verb tenses. So I can say things such as:

1)

Está ventando muito.

• In English, we’d say: It’s very windy.
• But in Portuguese we say: It’s “winding” a lot.

2)

Ventou muito ontem.

= It “winded” a lot yesterday.

3)

Espero que não vente tanto amanhã.

= I hope it doesn’t “wind” so much tomorrow.

Fun, don’t you think?

Ventar is a regular verb.

2. Anoitecer

Anoitecer translates as to get dark as the night is falling. You cannot use Anoitecer if there is a daytime storm and it gets dark.

In other words, it’s not simply to get dark, but specifically to get dark because the night is falling.

To remember this verb, you can think of the word: Noite = night.

Anoitecer is a regular verb.

Examples:

1)

During a car trip:

Espero que a gente chegue antes de anoitecer.

= I hope we get there before the night falls.

2)

Anoitece cedo em Recife no inverno.

= It gets dark early in Recife in the winter.

3. Almoçar

You probably know this verb:

• Almoçar = to have lunch

Although officially there is the verb To Lunch in the English dictionary, no one says: “Would you like to lunch with me?”

In Portuguese we do!

Almoçar is a regular verb.

Examples:

1)

Quer almoçar comigo?

= Would you like to have lunch with me?

2)

Ontem almocei em um restaurante maravilhoso.

= Yesterday I had lunch at a wonderful restaurant.

Tip to Avoid Mistakes in Portuguese

In Portuguese, we don’t say “ter almoço” (= to have lunch) or “comer almoço”(= to eat lunch).  We simply use the verb Almoçar. Keep this in mind 😉

I hope you found this lesson useful!

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