How do you string a sentence in Portuguese? So you’ve been learning different words and maybe some sentences, but now you’re stuck when you want to make your own sentence? Have you been wondering if there is a formula you can follow that will allow getting this right the majority of the time? In short, the answer is yes. There is a simple base formula that Portuguese sentences follow. Watch this lesson below.
The base formula is the SVO sequence:
Subject + Verb + Object
And this simply means that there is a doer of the action – the action itself – and the result/consequence or thing which connects the doer to the action. For example:
O gato vê o peixe.
The cat (subject) is the doer of the action of seeing (verb) – and what is he seeing? The fish – is the object in this sentence.
Once you’ve become comfortable with identifying these parts, the next step would be to add modifiers (more info here). These are used to add additional information to the base statement or change it in some way. For instance:
Try the exercise below. The goal is to organize the words in the correct order.
Now of course it would be the understatement of the century for me to say that that’s all you need to speak Portuguese as the language has many complex rules and exceptions. One challenging feature of Portuguese is that it’s a null-subject language, which means the subject does not need to be explicit. Moreover, these things take time to acquire.
So, I ask you to:
- be kind to yourself
- be patient
- put in consistent work/study
And I don’t mean hours and hours of gruelling grammar study!! And doing the bare minimum is no good either!!
Work smarter, not harder.
Think about someone who wants to be able to do 50 push-ups on their knuckles. If they go to the gym every day and run on the treadmill for three hours. Will they accomplish their goal? The answer is no. It’s similar (if not harder) when learning a language.
So how should you work smarter, not harder?
The secret is:
Spend time with the language. Listen as much as you can.
Adelina
When you’re looking for things to study or immerse yourself in – choose something you already like. And that will look different for everyone. Maybe you like gardening, or motorcycles or bird watching and someone else likes photography or video games or yoga.
Start with that. Find a magazine, blog, YouTube channel or television programme on that topic in Portuguese. And stick with it.
Before you ask,
Yes – it will be immensely challenging in the beginning. Yes – you’ll feel like nothing is going in. But when that happens, just try to relax. Listen to the sounds, the rhythm, the patterns. Try to notice the structures. And above all: Enjoy the experience! This is why it’s important to choose things you like.
Do you notice any familiar words? How many times have the same or similar words come up? Write those down (doesn’t have to be perfect) Look them up. Ask someone who knows what they mean.
In conclusion, the more you spend time with the language, in addition to maybe taking a class, or following a course, the more it will stick in the long run. The more you understand the more confident you’ll feel to speak it.
It took you several years before you could speak your own native language. Why do you torture yourself with trying to learn Portuguese by tomorrow?
Adelina
Simple Lesson Plan – Week 2: Basic Sentence Construction💬 (patrons only)