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Three Verbs in Portuguese that You Don’t Have in English

Three Verbs in Portuguese that You Don’t Have in English

posted on August 31, 2016

Three Portuguese Verbs that You Don’t Have in English - Portuguese lesson

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

Three Portuguese Verbs that You Don’t Have in English

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

Three Portuguese Verbs that You Don’t Have in English

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

Three Portuguese Verbs that You Don’t Have in English

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!

Practice and advance your Portuguese with a Street Smart Brazil teacher. We offer on-on-one Brazilian Portuguese lessons via Skype.

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Related Posts:

  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese
  • Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Words beginning in PS
  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Roy C. Kenny

    September 1, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    After living in Brazil for 10 years, I do all I can to keep my Portuguese alive. Your postings help. In fact I’ve written a number of times on my blog, rkennysite.wordpress.com, about the strange and humorous mistakes we made while learning the language. It is great to keep in contact with friends with e-mail and telephone. It helps every day to read my Pão Diário and minha Bíblia–so I kill two birds with one stone.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      September 2, 2016 at 2:07 pm

      Oi, Roy, obrigada pelo comentário. Vou visitar o seu blog!

      Reply
  2. Nate

    August 31, 2016 at 5:00 pm

    Muito obrigado, Luciana, pela sua ajuda!

    I heard that word “anoitecer” in a song but could not understand the meaning; now I can!

    One slightly off-topic question: there is a great song by Bebel Gilberto – Aganju (Latin Project Mix), you can find it on YouTube, but the lyrics do not translate to English very well. Would you consider doing a short lesson or blog post on this? It’s not an easy song to understand but it’s fun and excellent lounge music.

    Abs!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      September 2, 2016 at 2:09 pm

      Oi, Nate! I am happy that now you know what anoitecer means 🙂 I know the song Aganju! I like it too 🙂 But I don’t really know the lyrics. I will take a look at it. Obrigada!

      Reply

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