Portuguese · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 10 of 12
Describing people
Descrevendo pessoas
Describe what people look like and what they are like, say what someone was like in the past, and join sentences with que.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Describe appearance with ser, ter and usar
- Describe personality: simpático, tímido, engraçado
- Say what someone was like with the imperfect: Como ele era?
- Join sentences with que: o homem que usa óculos
Listen
In Manaus, Isabela looks at old photos with her grandmother, Dona Conceição, who is in her eighties. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Isabela
Vó, quem é esse aqui, alto e magro?
Grandma, who's this, the tall thin one?
Dona Conceição
É o seu avô, com vinte e cinco anos. Ele tinha o cabelo preto e cacheado, e usava bigode.
It's your grandfather, at twenty-five. He had black curly hair, and he had a moustache.
Isabela
Bigode? Quando eu era pequena, ele usava barba, e o cabelo era branco.
A moustache? When I was little, he had a beard, and his hair was white.
Dona Conceição
É verdade. Mas ele sempre teve esses olhos verdes.
That's true. But he always had those green eyes.
Isabela
E como a senhora conheceu o vô?
And how did you meet Grandpa?
Dona Conceição
Eu conheci ele numa festa, na casa de uma amiga. Ele era amigo do irmão dela.
I met him at a party at a friend's house. He was a friend of her brother's.
Isabela
E como ele era? Era sério?
And what was he like? Was he serious?
Dona Conceição
Não, era engraçado e muito simpático. Mas era um pouco tímido.
No, he was funny and very friendly. But he was a bit shy.
Isabela
Tímido? O vô? Mas ele falava muito.
Shy? Grandpa? But he talked a lot.
Dona Conceição
Comigo, não. Na festa ele só olhou para mim a noite toda. Quem falou primeiro fui eu.
Not with me. At the party he just looked at me all evening. I was the one who spoke first.
Isabela
A senhora? Que legal, vó.
You did? That's lovely, Grandma.
Dona Conceição
É. E dois anos depois, aquele tímido que não falava nada já era o meu marido.
Yes. And two years later, that shy guy who never said a word was already my husband.
Understand
What does he look like? Ser, ter and usar
Use for height, build and hair colour: Use for hair and eyes: (She has straight hair), . Use (to wear) for glasses, a beard or a moustache: (He wears glasses).
Adjectives agree with the person: , . In Brazil, / means someone with dark hair or a light brown skin, and / means blond.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| / | tall / short |
| / | thin / fat |
| / | short / long hair |
| / | straight / curly hair |
| / / | green / brown / blue eyes |
| to wear glasses | |
| / | to have a beard / a moustache |
Como ele é? Como ele era?
asks what someone is like: their appearance or their personality. To ask what someone was like in the past, use the imperfect: Descriptions in the past are always in the imperfect: , , .
Events, things that happened once, are in the preterite: (I met him at a party), (He looked at me). in the preterite means “to meet for the first time”.
- Ela era muito simpática.She was very friendly.
- Eu conheci a Júlia na faculdade.I met Júlia at university.
Joining sentences with que
(who, which, that) joins two sentences about the same person or thing. It's used for both people and things, and unlike English, you can never leave it out: (the man who wears glasses), (the photo that's on the table), (the friend I met yesterday).
- A professora que eu conheci ontem é muito simpática.The teacher I met yesterday is very nice.
- O filme que a gente viu ontem foi ótimo.The film we saw yesterday was great.
More in the grammar: Nouns and adjectives: gender and plural · The imperfect (pretérito imperfeito) · Relative pronouns
New words
- vógrandma (informal) · also ; / : grandpa
- alto / altatall · opposite: baixo / baixa (short)
- magro / magrathin, slim
- o cabelohair · masculine, singular:
- cacheado / cacheadacurly · opposite: liso / lisa (straight)
- usarto wear; to use · : to wear glasses
- o bigodemoustache · masculine
- a barbabeard · feminine
- os olhoseyes · singular
- conhecerto know (people, places); to meet (for the first time) · : I met him
- sério / sériaserious
- engraçado / engraçadafunny
- simpático / simpáticafriendly, nice
- tímido / tímidashy
Practise
1.How do you say “He wears glasses”?
2.Complete with the imperfect of : “She had long hair.”
She had long hair.
3.Complete: “the teacher who wears glasses”.
the teacher who wears glasses
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.He was tall and had green eyes.
5.Match the words with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.“I met my husband at a party.” Which verb fits? “Eu … meu marido numa festa.”
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Como ele é?
What's he like?
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.