Portuguese · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 12 of 12
Review: a weekend away
Um fim de semana fora
Review A2: tell the story of a weekend trip with the preterite and the imperfect, recommend places and make plans for your own trip.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Tell the story of a trip with the preterite and the imperfect together
- Recommend things with the imperative and valer a pena
- Compare places and say what was the best
- Talk about experience and plans: nunca fui, a gente vai no mês que vem
Listen
On Monday at an office in São Paulo, Rafaela tells her colleague Leandro about her weekend on the island of Ilhabela. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Leandro
Oi, Rafaela. E aí, como foi o fim de semana?
Hi, Rafaela. So, how was your weekend?
Rafaela
Adorei. A gente foi pra Ilhabela, eu e o Bruno.
I loved it. We went to Ilhabela, Bruno and I.
Leandro
Ilhabela? Eu nunca fui. E a viagem foi boa?
Ilhabela? I've never been. And was the journey OK?
Rafaela
Foi. A gente saiu na sexta à noite, a estrada estava tranquila, e a gente pegou a balsa às onze.
Yes. We left on Friday evening, the road was quiet, and we took the ferry at eleven.
Leandro
E onde vocês ficaram?
And where did you stay?
Rafaela
Numa pousada perto da praia. Era mais barata que os hotéis, e o café da manhã era ótimo.
At a guesthouse near the beach. It was cheaper than the hotels, and the breakfast was great.
Leandro
E o que vocês fizeram lá?
And what did you do there?
Rafaela
No sábado a gente fez uma trilha e tomou banho de cachoeira. No domingo a gente ficou na praia. É tudo lindo. No fim, eu não queria voltar.
On Saturday we did a trail and swam in a waterfall. On Sunday we stayed on the beach. It's all beautiful. In the end, I didn't want to come back.
Leandro
Vale a pena ir só por um fim de semana?
Is it worth going just for a weekend?
Rafaela
Vale, sim. Mas vai de carro, porque lá tudo é longe. E prova o camarão, é o melhor que eu já comi.
Yes, it is. But go by car, because everything's far apart there. And try the prawns, they're the best I've ever had.
Leandro
Boa ideia. A gente vai no mês que vem, então. A minha namorada adora praia.
Good idea. We'll go next month, then. My girlfriend loves the beach.
Rafaela
Que legal. Eu te mando o endereço da pousada. Eu recomendo muito.
That's great. I'll send you the address of the guesthouse. I really recommend it.
Understand
Telling the story: preterite and imperfect together
A story needs both past tenses. The preterite moves the story forward: what happened, one event after another (, , ). The imperfect paints the background: what things were like and how people felt (, , ).
A simple test: if you can ask “and then what happened?”, use the preterite. If it describes the scene, use the imperfect.
| Preterite: events | Imperfect: background |
|---|---|
Recommending and comparing
To recommend something to a friend, Brazilians use the everyday spoken imperative from chapter 9: , , . With / or in writing, use the standard form: , , .
means “it's worth it”: (Is it worth going?) — For “the best… I've ever…”, use + + preterite: . Comparisons work as in chapter 4: .
- Vale muito a pena.It's really worth it.
- Foi a melhor viagem que eu já fiz.It was the best trip I've ever been on.
Experience and plans
and + preterite talk about experience: (Have you ever been to Ilhabela?) — /
For plans, use + infinitive () or just the present of with a time word: (We're going next month). Remember that + gerund is for what is happening now, not for plans.
More in the grammar: Comparatives and superlatives · The imperative · The imperfect (pretérito imperfeito) · The preterite (pretérito perfeito)
New words
- adoreiI loved it · preterite of
- a viagemtrip, journey · feminine
- a estradaroad (between towns) · feminine
- a balsacar ferry · feminine
- a pousadaguesthouse, small hotel · feminine
- a trilhatrail, hiking path · feminine; : to go hiking
- a cachoeirawaterfall · feminine; : to swim in a waterfall
- lindo / lindabeautiful, lovely
- no fimin the end
- valer a penato be worth it · : it's worth it
- provarto try, to taste (food)
- o camarãoprawn, shrimp · masculine; plural
- o mês que vemnext month · also : next week
- recomendarto recommend
Practise
1.Which verb fits? “A estrada … tranquila.” (The road was quiet — a description.)
2.Complete with the preterite of ().
We took the ferry at eleven.
3.Recommend it to a friend in everyday speech: “Try the prawns.” Use .
Try the prawns.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.It was the best trip I've ever been on.
5.Match the Portuguese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.Someone asks You went once, last year. What do you say?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
A gente foi pra praia e adorou.
We went to the beach and loved it.
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.
0 of 5 answered.