Portuguese · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 2 of 12
Travel and hotels
Viagens e hotéis
Check in at a Brazilian guesthouse, ask about breakfast and your room, make polite requests and sort out a problem with the room.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Check in with a reservation and say the dates of your stay
- Make polite requests with você pode…?, o senhor poderia…? and será que…?
- Understand floors and room numbers
- Explain a small problem in your room
Listen
Sérgio Almeida checks in at a guesthouse (pousada) in Paraty. An hour later he comes back to reception. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Receptionist
Boa tarde. Pois não?
Good afternoon. How can I help?
Sérgio
Boa tarde. Eu tenho uma reserva em nome de Sérgio Almeida.
Good afternoon. I have a reservation in the name of Sérgio Almeida.
Receptionist
Um momento… Sim, um quarto de casal, do dia 12 ao dia 14, por duas noites. O senhor poderia me mostrar um documento?
One moment… Yes, a double room from the 12th to the 14th, for two nights. Could you show me some ID?
Sérgio
Claro, aqui está. O café da manhã está incluído na diária?
Of course, here you are. Is breakfast included in the nightly rate?
Receptionist
Está, sim. É das sete às dez. O seu quarto é o 305, no terceiro andar. Aqui está a chave.
Yes, it is. It's from seven to ten. Your room is 305, on the third floor. Here's the key.
Sérgio
Com licença. O ar-condicionado do meu quarto não está funcionando. E o chuveiro também não.
Excuse me. The air conditioning in my room isn't working. And the shower isn't either.
Receptionist
Desculpe, senhor. O senhor quer trocar de quarto? Tem um quarto de casal no primeiro andar.
I'm sorry, sir. Would you like to change rooms? There's a double room on the first floor.
Sérgio
Quero, sim. Será que eu posso trocar agora?
Yes, please. Could I change now?
Receptionist
Pode, sim. Aqui está a chave do 102.
Yes, you can. Here's the key to 102.
Sérgio
Obrigado. Ah, eu ainda não paguei as diárias. Pago agora?
Thank you. Oh, I haven't paid for the room yet. Shall I pay now?
Receptionist
Não, senhor. O senhor pode pagar no dia 14.
No, sir. You can pay on the 14th.
Sérgio
Perfeito. Muito obrigado.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
Understand
Asking politely
Você pode…? + infinitive is the everyday way to ask someone to do something. With / , staff and customers often use (could), which sounds more polite: (Could you show me some ID?) Learn as a set phrase for now; the full tense comes in B1.
Será que…? softens a question, a bit like “I wonder if…” or “Do you think…?”: And you know eu queria… (I'd like…) from A1:
| Portuguese | English | Sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Can you help me? | friendly, everyday | |
| Could you help me? | more polite | |
| Do you think you could help me? | soft, careful | |
| I'd like to change rooms. | polite |
Floors, rooms and dates
Floors use the ordinal numbers: , , , , . In Brazil the ground floor is , so is one floor up, as in British English. Room numbers are often said digit by digit: 305 is . The hundreds () come in chapter 4.
A small guesthouse, often family-run, is ; a bigger one is . For the dates of your stay, say (from the 12th to the 14th) and (for two nights).
- O meu quarto é no segundo andar.My room is on the second floor.
- Eu queria um quarto de solteiro por três noites.I'd like a single room for three nights.
Problems, and já / ainda não
To say that something is broken, use the phrase (isn't working): This + -ando form is taught in chapter 8.
With the preterite, means “already” and means “not yet”: (Have you paid yet?, from , to pay; with it's ) — (Yes, I have.) or (Not yet.)
More in the grammar: Articles and contractions: o, a, no, do, pelo · The preterite (pretérito perfeito) · The conditional (futuro do pretérito)
New words
- a reservareservation, booking · feminine
- em nome de…in the name of…
- o quarto de casaldouble room · a single room is
- o senhor poderia…?could you…? (polite) · a senhora poderia…? to a woman
- o documentoID, identity document · masculine
- incluído / incluídaincluded
- a diárianightly rate, price per night · feminine
- o andarfloor, storey · : on the third floor
- o ar-condicionadoair conditioning · masculine
- não está funcionandoisn't working
- o chuveiroshower · masculine
- trocar de quartoto change rooms
- será que…?I wonder if…?, do you think…?
- ainda nãonot yet
Practise
1.You want to ask an older receptionist, very politely, to help you. What do you say?
2.Room 305 is on the third floor. Complete the sentence.
The room is on the third floor.
3.You haven't had breakfast yet. Complete the answer.
Have you had breakfast yet? — Not yet.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.The shower isn't working.
5.Match the Portuguese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.How do you say “from the 12th to the 14th”?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Eu tenho uma reserva em nome de…
I have a reservation in the name of…
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.