How to Say Where You're From - PortuguesePod101

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Portuguese by PortuguesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say where you're from in Portuguese.

For example, "I'm from Florida." is

Eu sou da Flórida.

Two passengers, Susana Santos and Alex Andrade , are seated next to each other on a plane to Brazil.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Onde.

"where"

Onde.

De.

"from"

De.

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Susana’s response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use informal Portuguese.

Ready?

De onde você é?

Eu sou da Flórida.

Once more with the English translation.

De onde você é?

"Where are you from?"

Eu sou da Flórida.

"I'm from Florida."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Alex Andrade asks,

"Where are you from?"

De onde você é?

Let’s start with onde, meaning "where." Onde. Onde.

Before this is de, meaning "from" in this context. De. De.

Together, De onde, literally, "from where…"

Last is você é, "you are." Você é.

First is você, meaning "you," in this context. Você. Você.

Note: in Brazilian Portuguese você is used when addressing someone in a casual conversation.

After this is é, literally "is," but translates as "are," in this context. É. É.

É is from the verb ser, meaning "to be." Ser. Ser.

Together você é literally means "you is," but translates as "you are." Você é.

Note: você, "you," is always followed by a verb in the third person singular, as in Você é, literally, "You is," but translates as "You are."

This is because você derives from vossa mercê, a form of address meaning "your mercy," similar to other honorifics like "Your excellency" or "Your honor." Thus, você began its life as a third person singular pronoun and therefore requires a verb in the third person singular to agree with it.

All together, De onde você é? literally "from where you is," but translates as "Where are you from?"

De onde você é?

Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later in this lesson.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Susana Santos says,

"I'm from Florida."

Eu sou da Flórida.

Let's start with Flórida, "Florida." Flórida. Flórida.

In Portuguese, all nouns have grammatical gender and therefore often appear with an article.

For feminine singular nouns, the corresponding definite article is a.

When de precedes a, de plus a becomes da. Da. Da.

Together, Da Flórida, "from Florida."

Moving to the front of the sentence, first is eu, "I." Eu. Eu.

Next is sou, "am." Sou. Sou.

Sou is from the verb ser, meaning "to be." Ser.

All together, Eu sou da Flórida. "I'm from Florida."

Eu sou da Flórida.

The pattern is

Eu sou de CITY NAME.

"I am from CITY NAME."

Eu sou de CITY NAME.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {CITY NAME} placeholder with the name of your hometown.

Note: this sentence pattern works with most city names, as most city names don’t appear with an article.

Imagine you’re from Sydney. In Portuguese, Sydney. Sydney. Sydney.

Say

"I'm from Sydney."

Ready?

Eu sou de Sydney.

"I'm from Sydney."

Eu sou de Sydney.

The key pattern works with cities, as most cities don’t appear with an article; however, this is not the case for cities named after common nouns.

For cities named after common nouns, the corresponding article will change depending on the gender of the common noun.

For example, Rio de Janeiro is named after the masculine noun rio, meaning "river."

In Portuguese, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Rio is masculine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

The corresponding definite article for masculine singular nouns is o, as in o rio, "the river."

When de precedes o, de plus o becomes do.

Therefore, "I'm from Rio de Janeiro" is Eu sou do Rio de Janeiro.

Eu sou do Rio de Janeiro.

Guarda, a city in Portugal, is named after the feminine noun guarda, meaning "guard."

For feminine singular nouns, the corresponding definite article is a, as in a guarda, "the guard."

When de precedes a, de plus a becomes da.

Therefore, "I'm from Guarda" is Eu sou da Guarda.

Eu sou da Guarda.

You should be aware of this, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

For this lesson, recall, city names, like Sydney, are almost always used without articles, and therefore, the pattern is de CITY NAME.

Again, the key pattern is

Eu sou de CITY NAME.

"I am from CITY NAME."

Eu sou de CITY NAME.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Eu sou da Flórida.

"I'm from Florida."

Eu sou da Flórida.

Eu sou de Porto Alegre.

"I'm from Porto Alegre."

Eu sou de Porto Alegre.

Eu sou de Seattle. E você?

"I'm from Seattle. And you?"

Eu sou de Seattle. E você?

Eu sou de Londres.

"I'm from London."

Eu sou de Londres.

Eu sou de São Paulo.

"I'm from São Paulo."

Eu sou de São Paulo.

Eu sou australiana.

"I'm Australian."

Eu sou australiana.

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

Eu sou australiana.

"I'm Australian."

Eu sou australiana.

First is eu, "I." Eu.

Next is sou, "am." Sou.

Together, Eu sou… "I’m…." Eu sou…

Next is australiana, an "Australian," woman. Australiana.

Here, Mia Martin uses a feminine adjective, australiana, to describe herself.

All together, Eu sou australiana. "I'm Australian." Eu sou australiana.

This pattern is

Eu sou NATIONALITY.

"I am NATIONALITY."

To use this pattern, simply replace the {NATIONALITY} placeholder with your nationality.

Note: This pattern requires an adjective, and its gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Mia Martin uses a feminine adjective, australiana.

A male speaker from Australia would use a masculine adjective, australiano.

Eu sou australiano. I’m Australian. Eu sou australiano.

You can use this response to answer the question, De onde você é?

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the new vocabulary.

Nova Iorque.

"New York"

Nova Iorque.

Porto Alegre.

"Porto Alegre"

Porto Alegre.

Seattle.

"Seattle"

Seattle.

Londres.

"London"

Londres.

São Paulo.

"São Paulo"

São Paulo.

"australian"

Australiano.

Australiana.

E você?

"And you?"

E você?

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say

"Florida."

Flórida.

And how to say "from Florida"?

Da Flórida.

Do you remember how Susana says,

"I'm from Florida."

Eu sou da Flórida.

Do you remember how to say "where?"

Onde.

And how to say "from where?"

De onde.

And do you remember how Alex Andrade asks,

"Where are you from?"

De onde você é?

Do you remember how to say "London?"

Londres.

And how to say "Sydney?"

Sydney.

Do you remember how to say "São Paulo?"

São Paulo.

And how to say "And you?"

E você?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jack Jones from London, or Londres in Portuguese.

Respond to Alex Andrade's question.

Ready?

De onde você é?

Eu sou de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou de Londres.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Emma Espinosa from Seattle, or Seattle in Portuguese.

Ready?

De onde você é?

Eu sou de Seattle.

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou de Seattle.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Jade Furuta from São Paulo, or São Paulo in Portuguese.

Respond, and then add, "And you?"

Ready?

De onde você é?

Eu sou de São Paulo. E você?

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou de São Paulo. E você?

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from in Portuguese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

Prazer.

And the Portuguese pronunciation of Susana’s name?

Susana.

Do you remember how Susana says,

“I’m Susana.”

Eu sou Susana.

All together, do you remember how Susana Santos introduces herself?

Eu sou Susana. Prazer!

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London.

Do you know how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Portuguese?

Jack Jones.

Respond to Alex Andrade 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Oi! Eu sou Alex. Prazer.

Eu sou Jack. Prazer!

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou Jack. Prazer!

Do you remember how to say "London" in Portuguese?

Londres.

Now respond that you’re from London.

De onde você é?

Eu sou de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou de Londres.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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