INTRODUCTION |
The bus is an important means of transportation. In many Portuguese cities, even big ones, we use buses almost as often as the train, to cover both long and short distances. However, before starting your trip, you probably need to buy a ticket. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
Before you buy a ticket, you’ll want to know how much it costs. In Portuguese, “How much is a ticket?” is: |
Quanto custa um bilhete? |
(slow) Quan-to cus-ta um bilhete? |
Quanto custa um bilhete? |
Quanto custa, as you learned before, means “how much does it cost” |
(slow) Quan-to cus-ta |
Quanto custa |
And um bilhete means “one ticket” |
(slow) um bi-lhe-te |
um bilhete |
Once again, altogether it is: |
Quanto custa um bilhete? |
・ |
In case you need to be more specific, you can ask: |
Quanto custa um bilhete de autocarro? If you travel by bus |
and |
Quanto custa um bilhete de comboio? If you travel by train. |
Let’s hear the first phrase again: |
(slow) Quan-to cus-ta um bilhete de au-to-ca-rro? |
Quanto custa um bilhete de autocarro? |
All we did was add de autocarro, after bilhete. |
De means “of” and autocarro is the Portuguese word for “bus.” |
Let’s hear the two words again: |
(slow) De. |
De. |
And |
(slow) Au-to-car-ro. |
Autocarro. |
If you need a train ticket, use the same beginning of the phrase, and at the end, replace de autocarro with de comboio. As you may have noticed, comboio is the word for “train.” |
(slow) com-bo-io. |
comboio. |
Once again, it is: |
Quanto custa um bilhete de com-bo-io? |
・ |
When you’re ready to buy a ticket, you say: |
Um bilhete, por favor. |
This means “one ticket, please”. |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) U-m bilhete, por fa-vor. |
Once more: |
Um bilhete, por favor. |
First we have um which means “one”. |
Next comes bilhete, which is translated as “ticket.” |
Don’t forget to add por favor for “please” at the end! |
So the whole request – “One ticket, please” – is |
Um bilhete, por favor. |
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