Portuguese · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 12 of 12

Your first conversation

Sua primeira conversa

Put all of A1 together in a real conversation: introduce yourself, talk about work and free time, accept an invitation and swap numbers.

10 lines, with a translation of each

In this chapter you'll learn to

Hold a short conversation with someone new
Ask questions with the right question word
Choose between ser, estar, ficar and ter
Keep a conversation going

Listen

At a language exchange in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, Emma, from Dublin, meets Gabriel for the first time. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.

Speed:

Hide translations (test yourself)

Gabriel
Oi, você é a Emma? Eu sou o Gabriel.
Hi, are you Emma? I'm Gabriel.
Emma
Sou eu. Muito prazer, Gabriel.
That's me. Nice to meet you, Gabriel.
Gabriel
Muito prazer. De onde você é?
Nice to meet you. Where are you from?
Emma
Sou de Dublin, mas moro aqui no Rio. Sou professora de inglês.
I'm from Dublin, but I live here in Rio. I'm an English teacher.
Gabriel
É mesmo? Que legal! Eu sou enfermeiro. Trabalho em um hospital aqui em Botafogo, de segunda a sexta.
Really? That's great! I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital here in Botafogo, Monday to Friday.
Emma
E o que você gosta de fazer no fim de semana?
And what do you like doing at the weekend?
Gabriel
Eu adoro samba. No sábado tem um show aqui perto. Você quer vir?
I love samba. On Saturday there's a show near here. Do you want to come?
Emma
Quero, sim. A que horas é?
Yes, I'd love to. What time is it?
Gabriel
Às dez da noite. Qual é o número do seu celular?
At ten in the evening. What's your mobile number?
Emma
É nove, nove, oito, sete, meia, dois, cinco, quatro, um.
It's 9 9 8 7 6 2 5 4 1.

Understand

Question words

Here are all the question words from A1 together. As in chapter 2, the question word goes at the start and the rest keeps the normal word order: (Where do you live?), or with in speech:

To ask for a piece of information such as a name or a number, use …?, not …?:

Question word	English	Example
	what
	who
	where
	where… from
	when
	at what time
/	how much / how many
	how
	which / what
	why

Ser, estar, ficar or ter?

English uses “to be” for many things that Portuguese splits between , , and . Here's a summary of what you've learned in A1.

For jobs, Portuguese uses without or : (I'm a teacher), (I'm a nurse). Most jobs have a masculine and a feminine form: , .

Verb	Use it for	Example
	who or what someone is, origin, jobs, the time of an event
	how you are, where people and things are now
	where buildings and places are
	to have, age, “there is”

Keeping a conversation going

Short reactions show you're listening: (Really?), (How nice! / That's great!). If you don't understand, say (Sorry? / Pardon?) or (Can you say that again, please?). Then ask something back:

É mesmo? Que legal!Really? That's great!
Desculpe, pode repetir, por favor?Sorry, can you say that again, please?
Qual é a sua profissão?What do you do? (What's your job?)

More in the grammar: Present tense of irregular verbs · Questions and negation · Ser, estar and ficar

New words

sou euthat's me, it's me
o professor / a professorateacher
o inglêsEnglish (the language) · masculine; = English teacher
É mesmo?Really?
Que legal!How nice! That's great!
o enfermeiro / a enfermeiranurse
o hospitalhospital · masculine; plural
de segunda a sextaMonday to Friday
o showconcert, live show · masculine
o número do celularmobile number · masculine
a profissãojob, profession · feminine; plural
o engenheiro / a engenheiraengineer
a escolaschool · feminine
Pode repetir?Can you say that again?

Practise

1.Emma teaches English. How does she say “I'm a teacher”?
2.Complete with the right question word: “Where do you live?”
você mora?
Where do you live?
3.Complete with the right verb: “I'm thirty.”
Eu trinta anos.
I'm thirty.
4.Put the words in order to ask for a phone number.
Tap the words below in the right order.
What's your mobile number?
5.Match the question words.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.You didn't understand what someone said. What do you say?

0 of 6 exercises done.

Say it out loud

Sou de Londres, mas moro em São Paulo.

I'm from London, but I live in São Paulo.

Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.

Check

Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.

1.Gabriel is a nurse. How does he say it?
2.Complete it the way a Brazilian usually says it: “O hospital … em Botafogo.”
3.What does ask?
4.Complete: “As chaves … na mochila.”
5.How do you ask for someone's name with ?

0 of 5 answered.