Learn how to distinguish between the two verbs that mean "to be"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: Hello, and welcome back to the PortuguesePOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Portuguese! I'm joined in the studio by... |
| Thássia: Hello everyone. Thássia here. |
| Thássia: Braden, please tell us what we are going to learn in this lesson. |
| Braden: In this lesson you'll learn about Ser and Estar and how they are used in Portuguese. |
| Thássia: Where does this conversation take place and who is it between? |
| Braden: This conversation takes place in the evening on the street and it's between Michael, and Tiago. |
| Thássia: Will they be speaking formally or informally? |
| Braden: They will be speaking informally because they are friends. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Tiago: E ai Michael, tudo azul? |
| Michael: O que está azul? |
| Tiago: Tudo. |
| Michael: Como assim? |
| Tiago: Estou perguntando se está tudo bem. |
| Michael: Então, é uma outra expressão que quer dizer "tudo bem?" |
| Tiago: É. |
| Michael: Ah tá. |
| Tiago: Assim como "Tudo bom?" "tudo jóia?", ou "Tudo em paz?" |
| Michael: Eu não sabia que tinha tantas expressões assim. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Tiago: E ai Michael, tudo azul? |
| Michael: O que está azul? |
| Tiago: Tudo. |
| Michael: Como assim? |
| Tiago: Estou perguntando se está tudo bem. |
| Michael: Então, é uma outra expressão que quer dizer "tudo bem?" |
| Tiago: É. |
| Michael: Ah tá. |
| Tiago: Assim como "Tudo bom?" "tudo jóia?", ou "Tudo em paz?" |
| Michael: Eu não sabia que tinha tantas expressões assim. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Tiago: E ai Michael, tudo azul? |
| Braden: What's up Michael, is everything blue? |
| Michael: O que está azul? |
| Braden: What is blue? |
| Tiago: Tudo. |
| Braden: Everything. |
| Michael: Como assim? |
| Braden: What do you mean? |
| Tiago: Estou perguntando se está tudo bem. |
| Braden: I'm asking if everything is okay. |
| Michael: Então, é uma outra expressão que quer dizer "tudo bem?" |
| Braden: Then, it's another expression that means, "tudo bem?" |
| Tiago: É. |
| Braden: Yes. |
| Michael: Ah tá. |
| Braden: Oh, okay. |
| Tiago: Assim como "Tudo bom?" "tudo jóia?", ou "Tudo em paz?" |
| Braden: Just like, "Is everything well?" "Is everything jewel?" or "Is everything peaceful?" |
| Michael: Eu não sabia que tinha tantas expressões assim. |
| Braden: I didn't know there were so many expressions. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: One thing that will throw you for a loop in Portuguese are the expressions. |
| Thássia: That's true. Expressions come in many forms but they are usually used to express particular feelings or ideas in a direct way. |
| Braden: Right. To me expressions are kind of like “inside jokes” just with a very big group. |
| Thássia: Haha! Portuguese expressions can often seem a bit random but to Brazilians, that’s just how you express those particular ideas. |
| Braden: Like “tudo azul.” In English the translation would be “Is everything blue.” In English, blue is often associated with sadness like "I'm so blue." |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Thássia: jóia [natural native speed] |
| Braden: jewelry |
| Thássia: jóia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: jóia [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Thássia: paz [natural native speed] |
| Braden: peace |
| Thássia: paz [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: paz [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Thássia: bom [natural native speed] |
| Braden: good |
| Thássia: bom [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: bom [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Thássia: ser [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to be |
| Thássia: ser [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: ser [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Thássia: estar [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to be |
| Thássia: estar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: estar [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Thássia: tanto [natural native speed] |
| Braden: as much as, so much, so many |
| Thássia: tanto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: tanto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Thássia: azul [natural native speed] |
| Braden: blue |
| Thássia: azul [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Thássia: azul [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Thássia: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is “está tudo azul” |
| Braden: “Está tudo azul” translates to “everything is blue,” but it's just another way of saying “everything is fine.” |
| Thássia: When someone asks you “tudo azul?” you can simply answer “tudo” to mean “yes, every thing is fine.” |
| Braden: The expression is “como assim” which translates to “how like that” but is used as “what do you mean?” or “I didn’t understand.” |
| Thássia: It is a nice expression for when you don’t understand something or when you need further explanation. |
| Braden: Our next expression is “Assim como” which is just a reversal of the last phrase "como assim." |
| Thássia: That's right. "Assim como" was used in dialogue to mean “such as.” Tiago said “assim como” which translates to “like that how” but it was used to mean “just like” or “in the same way as.” “Assim como” is often used to introduce examples. |
| Braden: Next we have the phrase “quer dizer." This is a very very common phrase and you'll hear and use it a lot. |
| Thássia: "quer dizer" literally translates to “wants to say,” but it’s used just like the phrase “it means” in English. It can also mean, “in other words.” |
| Braden: Next we have “É” which means “it is” but, in the dialogue, it was used as “yes” as in "yes, it is." |
| Thássia: In Portuguese, you can use “é” to answer many questions that use the verb “ser.” For example, the answer for the question “Ela é sua amiga?” which means “Is she your friend?” is just “é” to mean “yes, she is.” |
| Braden: The last expression we are going to look at in this lesson is “a tá”. “A tá” is a filler that means “Oh, okay!” In the dialogue, Michael used “a tá” to mean “I get it.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: Thássia, what are we focusing on today? |
| Thássia: The focus of this lesson is the verbs “ser” and “estar.” |
| Braden: In the dialogue we heard the phrase |
| Thássia: "O que está azul?" |
| Braden: Which we translated as "What is blue?” This in an example of the "estar" verb. Both "estar" and "ser" in their infinitive forms are commonly translated as "to be" in English. |
| Thássia: Let's start with the "ser" verb. The verb ser is a commonly used irregular verb and is one of two Portuguese verbs that correspond to the English verb “to be.” |
| Braden: Ser can be used to link two nouns or pronouns that represent the same thing or to describe the characteristics of someone or something. |
| Thássia: We talked about "ser" in Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 17. |
| Braden: Thássia, could you give us the present tense conjugations for the verb ser? |
| Thássia: Sure. First we have "sou" which indicates "I" and means means "I am." Then we have "é" which is used for either the "você," "ele," or "ela" subject pronouns. Then we have "somos" whi is used with "nós" and means "are" as in "we are." Last we have "são" which is used for the "vocês," "eles," or "elas" subject pronouns. So "they are" is "eles são." |
| Braden: Thanks! We have chart in the lesson notes about the verb ser. What's next? |
| Thássia: The estar verb. The verb estar is also a commonly used irregular verb. Estar is the other Portuguese verb that means “to be” in English. |
| Braden: That's right. Estar is used to describe the condition of something or someone at the moment (feeling, emotions, etc.) and to tell location of people or things that can move, like shoes and books. Could you give us the present tense cojugations for estar? |
| Thássia: Sure. First we have “estou" which indicates "I" and means means "I am." Then we have “está" which is used for either the "você," "ele," or "ela" subject pronouns. Then we have “estamos" which is used with "nós" and means "are" as in "we are." Last we have “estão" which is used for the "vocês," "eles," or "elas" subject pronouns. So "they are" is "eles estão." |
| Braden: So both "ser" and "estar" translate to English as "to be." It's as if you divided "to be" in to two parts and one half goes with "ser" and the other half goes with "estar." |
| Thássia: Right. One way "ser" is used is to link nouns or pronouns that represent the same thing. Like in the sentence, "Ele é meu pai." which means "he is my father." |
| Braden: Right. The "é" just like the "is" in English is liking the pronoun "he" to the other pronoun "father." But the Estar verb doesn't do that? |
| Thássia: No. Estar is for short term things like to tell the location of moveable objects or to talk about temporary situations like the weather or emotions. |
| Braden: So that's why you say "como estão vocês" to ask people how they are instead of saying "Como são vocês." |
| Thássia: Right. "Como são vocês" doesn't make much sense. |
| Braden: So this difference is very important, right? |
| Thássia: Yes very. We included a table in the lesson notes that give the individual uses of "ser" and "estar" a with sample sentences. Be sure to check it out. |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. |
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| Braden: okay see you next time! |
| Thássia: Até! |
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