VIII. THE INDECLINABLES
Reading edition
ADVERBS
(See Exercise XXXII, page 152)
134. Adverbs may be single words as bem, well, logo,[59] presently, cedo, early.
a. Or they may be adverbial phrases such as the following:
a miudo, repeatedly ante-hontem, day before yesterday as cegas, blindly as escuras, darkly até aqui, thus far a toda hora, hourly a torto e direito, right and left a vista, at sight com effeito, indeed d’aqui a pouco, shortly d’aqui em diante, henceforth de dia, by day de longe, afar de noite, by night de nenhuma sorte, by no means de perto, near by de repente, suddenly de chofre, suddenly, unexpectedly de tarde, in the afternoon de vez em quando, from time to time em fim, finally em seguida, one after another em vão, in vain hoje em dia, nowadays (popular) para sempre, forever pelo menos, at least por baixo, below por cima, above por em quanto, meantime pouco mais ou menos, a little more or less quando muito, at most
b. The following are composite forms: depois (de and pois), afterwards; quiça, perhaps, (abbreviation of quem sabe, who knows); tambem (tão and bem), also; tampouco or tão pouco. Example: elle não quiz e eu tão pouco, he didn’t want it, and neither did I.
c. Many adverbs are formed by adding mente to a feminine adjective. The mente is usually to be translated by the English ending ly; escuramente, darkly; propriamente, properly.
d. When two or more adjectives ending in mente follow each other this termination is used with the last and is understood for the others: justa e propriamente, justly and properly.
e. Some adverbs have the same forms as the masculine adjectives: such are alto, baixo, barato, certo, claro, conforme, and muito: falar baixo, to speak low; comprou barato, he bought cheaply.
f. Que is an adverb when used to modify an adjective, and can be substituted by como, quão or quanto: que bella é a noite, how fine the night is.
g. Eis, best translated behold, is a demonstrative adverb: eis Lisboa! behold Lisbon! Eis o homem! behold the man! Eis que, eis-aqui, eis-ahi, and eis-alli are all used in directing attention. With the objective of the personal pronouns it forms enclitics: eil-o, eil-os, see him, see them.
h. Adverbs are sometimes used after certain verbs where English requires adjectives. These verbs are: estar, ficar, permanecer, sair, continuar. The following expressions are good Portuguese: Este negocio parece-me bom or parece-me bem, this business seems to me to be good. Estou bem or estou bom (or boa), I am well. Está bem, he is well off (financially).
135. a. Special cases.—Aqui, here, in this place, is associated with the first person. Por aqui, this way; d’aqui, hence, d’aqui a tres dias, three days hence; d’aqui em diante, henceforth, from now on.
b. Cá, here, is also associated with the first person: vem cá, come here. It is also used with the first person for emphasis: eu cá me entendo, I (here) know what I am about.
c. Ahi is associated with the second person and refers to a fixed place near the speaker: bote ahi, put it just there.
d. Ali is associated with the third person and refers to a more distant and fixed place.
e. Muito when used in comparisons may mean either very or too; muito longe may be either very far or too far, according to the context.
f. Sim, yes, is used after que in indirect discourse to mean so or just so; creio que sim, I believe so; acho que sim, I find it so, or I think so.
g. Sim and não as replies are rarely used alone, but in polite conversation are accompanied by Senhor or Senhora.
h. Where yes would be used in English, in Portuguese the verb used is ordinarily repeated or é is used. Está prompto? Are you ready? Estou, I am. Viu o vapor? Did you see the steamer? Vi, or vi-o, I saw it.
i. Nada is sometimes used as an emphatic no, as explained in § 136.
j. Mesmo is used for emphasis in connection with the adverbs ahi, aqui, etc.: ahi mesmo, in that very spot.
k. D’ahi por diante or d’ahi em diante, from that time on.
l. Lá em cima, up there; lá em baixo, down there.
m. Aonde, where, whither, indicates motion toward, and donde, whence, motion from a place; onde estou, donde venho, e aonde vou, where I am, whence I come, and whither I go.
n. Para onde, whither; para baixo, downward; para traz, backward.
o. Por onde, which way; por baixo, beneath; por detraz, behind.
p. The English ago is expressed by the use of the impersonal verb ha, from haver (§ 109): ha um anno, a year ago.
q. Just, and just now are expressed by the use of the verbs acabar and chegar, and by the adverbs ainda agora: as acabou de jantar, he has just dined; and ainda agora jantou, he has just now dined. Agorinha, a diminutive form of agora, now, is similarly used and shortens the time past.
r. There is expressed by ali (or alli), lá, and acolá. Lá and acolá are associated with the third person, and refer to places distant but not precise. Bote lá, put it there, i. e., somewhere there. Digo a um vae acolá, e elle vae; e a outro vem cá, e elle vem, I say to one go there and he goes, and to another come here and he comes.
s. It often happens that a single English word can be rendered in Portuguese only by an adverbial phrase; such are somewhat and somewhere. Um tanto indisposto, somewhat ill; em alguma outra parte, somewhere else.
Algures is sometimes, but not often, used for somewhere.
NEGATION
(See Exercise XXXIII, page 153)
136. The adverbs of simple negation are:
não, no, not: não estudei, I have not studied
nem, neither, nor: nem um nem outro, neither the one nor the other
nunca, never: nunca vi, I have never seen: nunca mais, never more
jamais, never: nunca jamais o saberá, you will never know it
nada, nothing. (Though commonly a noun this word is sometimes used as an adverb of emphatic negation: vai a cidade? are you going to the city? Nada! decidedly not!)
The expression pois não, literally, why not, is sometimes an affirmative, equivalent to certainly, but it is sometimes a negative. The meaning in these cases is determined by the intonation.
Pois sim is similarly an affirmation or negation according to intonation.
137. Double or Emphatic Negative.—Two negatives are used for the purpose of strengthening the negation, and are not, as in English, equivalent to an affirmative. Não sei nada disso, I know nothing about it, is correct Portuguese; likewise are such expressions as não sei não; não tenho nada; não ha nada; não conheço ninguem; não devemos nunca.
INTERROGATION
(See Exercise XXXIII, page 153)
138. There is no special arrangement of words for asking a question. That a question is asked is indicated colloquially by the tone of the voice, or, when written, it is shown by the use of the interrogation mark. Este livro é meu may mean is this book mine? in which case the interrogation mark would be used, or it may mean this book is mine.
There are certain words, however, which in themselves sometimes, but not always, imply questions, such as quanto or quanta, how much; quantos or quantas, how many; porque, why or because; como, how or as, and qual, which. The expression não é assim? is it not so? and não acha? don’t you find it so? refer to a preceding sentence or idea and are equivalent to the French n’est-ce pas? or the German nicht wahr?
PREPOSITIONS
(See Exercise XXXIV, page 154)
139. Prepositions are either single, as a, to, até, until; or they are prepositional phrases: cerca de, about, antes de, before (in time).
The prepositions de and a are used in connection with direct objects as explained § 122, 123.
a. De follows certain adjectives:
capaz de, capable of: elle é capaz de chegar a qualquer hora, he is liable to arrive at any time
cego de, blind: cego de um olho, blind in one eye
cego de raiva, blind with rage
dependente de, dependent upon
digno de, worthy of
doente de, ill with or of
distante de, distant from
facil de, easy to
proprio de, proper to, or for
proprio para,
b. Similarly de follows certain participles used as adjectives (see § 124c), such as
pintado de verde, painted green vestida de seda, dressed in silk
c. De is also used idiomatically in such expressions as estar de pé or em pé, to stand up; ir de chinellas, to go in one’s slippers.
d. The preposition de is much used in certain idiomatic phrases and sentences, such as chorar de prazer, to weep for joy; morrer de fome, to die of hunger; fazer de tolo, to act the fool; responder de não, to say no; chamar de ladrão, to call one a thief.
e. The preposition de, of, often drops the e and takes an apostrophe when followed by a word beginning with a vowel: d’este, of this, for de este; d’aquelle, of that; they are also written deste and daquelle, with elle it forms delle.
f. When the preposition de is followed by the definite article, the two words unite and are written and pronounced do, da, dos, das (in place of de o, etc.). (See § 15b.)
140. The preposition em, in, is similarly combined with the definite article forming no, na, nos, nas, as explained at § 15c, and with este, esse, and aquelle forming neste, nesse, and naquelle.
141. The preposition a, to, has so many and such varied uses that it seems best to give a list of them:[60]
A, to, is used to express:
a. The place to or toward which, with the idea of returning: ir a praça, to go to the square.
b. The place where or near which: estar á porta, to be at the door; situado a beira-mar, situated at the seaside.
c. Distance, measure of place and time: a tiro de bala, a gunshot away; a tres kilometros, three kilometers away.
d. End or purpose: trabalhar a bem da patria, to work for the good of the country; deu-lhe o vinho a provar, he gave him the wine to test.
e. Material: pintar a oleo, to paint in oil; bordar a ouro, to embroider with gold.
f. Time in which: partir ao meio dia, to leave at noon.
g. Future time near at hand expressed with the infinitive: está a chegar, he is about to arrive.
h. Length of time: d’aqui a dez dias, ten days hence.
i. Manner: obra feita a pedaços, work done by bits; a pé, afoot; a cavallo, horseback; a nado, (by means of) swimming.
j. Distribution and succession: dois a dois, two by two; gota a gota, drop by drop.
k. Means, instrument, cause: matar á fome, to kill with hunger; ás punhaladas, with dagger thrusts; cantar á viola, to sing with a viola; calçar aos pés, to wear on the feet. (See note § 8. 2.)
l. Measure, price, tax: medir a metros, to measure in meters; comprar ás arrobas, to buy by the arroba; vender a peso, to sell by weight; juros a cinco per cento, interest at five per cent.
m. Quantity: aos centos, by the hundreds; chover a bom chover, to pour down rain.
n. Manner of action (with infinitives): andar a saltar, to go jumping; ouvir passaros a cantar, to hear the birds a-singing.
o. Conformity: ao parecer, as it seems, a vontade, as much as one likes.
p. Object of reference: prompto a responder, ready to respond; apertar a mão a alguem, to press one’s hand.
q. Hypothesis: a ser assim, so to be.
r. A and para, to, besides other relations, both express movement toward, but with this noteworthy difference: a contains the idea of returning, while para contains the idea of remaining. Vou a Europa and vou para Europa both mean I am going to Europe, and are both correct Portuguese, but the former means that I go to return, while the latter means I go to remain there.
In such expressions as está para chegar and está a chegar, he is about to arrive, both refer to future action, but para expresses a more remote and a a more immediate action.
142. In verse and colloquially com, with, sometimes drops the m when followed by the definite article: co’os teus or c’os teus, with thy, in place of com os teus.
On the preposition per see § 15d.
143. Pelo que is an idiomatic expression: pelo que dizem, from what they say; pelo que me toca, in so far as it concerns (touches) me.
Certain adjectives and participles used as adjectives are followed by por:
celebre distincto famoso illustre notavel responsavel
Examples of participles used as adjectives and requiring por:
144. The following are idiomatic prepositional expressions:
abaixo de, beneath acima de, on top of afim de, to the end that alem de, beyond ao redor de, around aquem de, this side of a roda de, about cerca de, about diante de, before de entre, between de frente de, in front of dentro de, inside of depois de, after de proposito, on purpose de sob, below de sobra, superabundantly de todo, entirely detraz de, behind de vez em quando, from time to time junto de, near longe de, far from perto de, near por baixo de, below por cima de, above
For prepositions required by certain verbs see § 122.
CONJUNCTIONS
(See Exercise XXXIV, page 154)
145. Conjunctions are either single as e,[62] and, porem, but, que, than, or they are conjunctional phrases. Following are the more idiomatic of the conjunctional phrases:
afim de que, for the purpose of ainda que, although, in spite of the fact that a não ser que, unless antes que, rather than, before apesar de, in spite of apesar de que, in spite of the fact that comtanto que, so that, provided de maneira que, so that, in such a way that de modo que, so that, in such a way that depois que, after that de tal modo que, in such fashion that de tal sorte que, in such fashion that emquanto que, while, although entretanto que, whilst no caso que, in case that para que, in order that se bem que, although sem que, unless visto que, in view of the fact that
a. Than is usually que, but it is also expressed by de, de que, do que, da que: mais agua que café, more water than coffee; mais que vinte, more than twenty; mais do que é necessario, more than is necessary; mais de uma vez, more than once.
b. Either ... or are expressed by ou ... ou: ou pode ou não pode, either you can or you cannot.
c. Neither ... nor are expressed by não ... nem or by nem ... nem: não quero, nem posso, I neither wish nor can I; não tenho nem ouro nem prata, I have neither gold nor silver.
INTERJECTIONS
146. Interjections are single words as Oh, oxalá, would to God, or they are interjectional phrases as valha-me Deus! ai de mim! alas me! quem me dera, would that; tomára que elle venha, I wish he would come.
Interjectional phrases containing de such as ai de mim, infeliz de ti, pobre delle, are said to be elliptical; the complete expression would be something like: Ai (tem compaixão) de mim! infeliz (tenho compaixão) de ti! pobre (tenho compaixão) delle! (§ 139e) coitado! coitadinha!
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN WRITING
(See Exercise XXXV, page 155)
147. There are several abbreviations of Latin origin that are the same as those in English, such as A. D. for anno domini, etc. for et cetera, P. S. for post scriptum, and the like. In addition there are many abbreviations for Portuguese words, the most common of which are given in the following list. These are used extensively in correspondence, and in the official documents.
Affᵒ = affectuoso Amo. or Aᵒ = amigo Antᵒ = Antonio Attᵒ = attento Bᵉˡ = bacharel Bᵗᵒ = Bento Capᵐ = Capitão Cⁱᵃ or Comp. = companhia Consᵒ or Consʳᵒ = conselheiro Cᵒˡ or Corᵉˡ = Coronel Crᵈᵒ = criado D. = Dom, Dona. D. G. = Deus guarde Dᵃ = dita, Dona. Dᵒ = dito D. D. or Digᵐᵒ = Dignissimo Dr. = Doutor E. F. = Estrada de ferro Exᵐᵒ = Excellentissimo Exᵐᵃ = Excellentissima E. R. M. = espera receber mercê Ferᵃ = Ferreira Fr. = Frei Franᶜᵒ = Francisco Frᶜᵒ = Francisco Genˡ = General humˡ = humilde Illma. = Illustrissima Imp. = Imperial J. C. = Jesus Christo Janᵒ = Janeiro Joaqᵐ = Joaquim Jᵐ = Joaquim Jᵉ = José M. D. = muito digno Mˡ or Mel. = Manuel Mᵃ = minha and Maria Mto. = muito N. = norte N. or Nᵒ. = numero N. S. = Nosso Senhor Nᵃ Sᵃ = Nossa Senhora O. = oeste Obdᵒ or Obgᵈᵒ = obrigado Obdᵃ or Obgᵈᵃ = obrigada O. D. C. = offerece, dedica e consagra (used in the dedication of books, etc.) p. p. = proxima passada pᵃ = para pᵉ = padre Perᵃ = Pereira P. E. F. = por especial favor qᵈᵒ = quando qᵗᵒ = quanto Revᵃ = Reverencia, Reverendissima Rvᵈᵒ = Reverendo Rvᵐᵒ = Reverendissimo s/c = sua casa S. = São,[63] Silva, Sousa, sua, sul S. M. I. = Sua Majestade Imperial S. P. = serviço publico S. S. = Sua Senhoria, Sua Santidade Sr., Snr. = Senhor Snra. = Senhora Stᵒ = Santo[63] Stᵃ = Santa[63] S. E. O. = salvo erro ou omissão V. = Você Vᵃ = Viuva V. A. = Vossa Alteza V. A. R. = Vossa Alteza Real V. Exᵃ = Vossa Excellencia V. Magᵉ = Vossa Majestade V. M. I. = Vossa Majestade Imperial Venᵈᵒʳ = Venerador V. M. = Vossa Mercê Vmᶜᵉ = Vossa Mercê V. S. or Vᵃ Sᵃ = Vossa Senhoria 1°, 2° = primeiro, segundo, etc. 7br. = Setembro 8br. = Outubro 9br. = Novembro 1Obr. = Dezembro
SIMILARITY OF WORDS IN THE TWO LANGUAGES
(See Exercise XXXVI, page 156)
One of the difficulties sometimes encountered by a beginner of Portuguese comes from a misleading similarity of certain words in the two languages. A few such words are here brought together to illustrate and emphasize this feature of the language, but the list is not complete.
It is noticeable that words of this kind are chiefly from the Latin, and that they have descended to the English language with one of their meanings emphasized, and to the Portuguese with another. It should be noted, however, that the meanings given are the common rather than the only ones.
List of Portuguese Words having a Meaning Different from Similar Words in English
PORTUGUESE ENGLISH
acção share (in company)
accordar to waken
actual present (time)
admirar-se to be surprised
alumno student
apreciar enjoy
armar (rede) tie up
artista artisan
ascender to light (fire)
assentar to sit
assistir to be present
bravo wild
bruto rough
campo open field
collegio school (preparatory)
combinar agree
commum ordinary
competencia jurisdiction
concertar to mend
constipação cold (in the head)
damno injury
demandar (porto) to head for
denunciar to announce (and denounce)
desapontar to put out
desgraça misfortune
direito right, straight
durar to last
espaço period
espectaculo performance
estreito narrow
esquesito queer
face cheek
faltar to be lacking
fama rumor
impertinente exacting
importar to amount to
idioma language
idiotismo idiom
miseravel wretched
miseria want
nomear appoint
offendido hurt
officio trade
ordinario commonplace, worthless
parente kinsman
particular private
partir to start
prejuizo injury
querer wish
real royal
regimento rule
ruim bad
segundo according to
sereno dew
singular peculiar
sorte prize
successo accident
vapor steam, steamer
vicio habit
vulgarizar to popularize
vulgarmente commonly