Portuguese

O que que ele est a fazer? Language Focus Estar a + infinitivo Numbers 201 - 500
Listen and repeat, then look at the translation to the right.
no (em + o) (m. s.) quintal (m. s.) o que..? que a fazer O que que? O que ( que) ele est a fazer? a cortar relva (f. s.) (Ele) est a cortar a relva. tambm com com ele a brincar co (m. s.) na (em + a) (f. s.) sala de estar (f. s.) O que que eles esto a fazer? a estudar para exame (m. s.) exame de portugus l fora a regar plantas (f. pl.) quarto (m. s.) dela (f. s.) cama (f. s.) garagem (f. s.) a reparar deles (m. pl.) carro (m. s.) escritrio (m. s.) a trabalhar a regar a beber a tentar relatrio dirio (m. s.) nivel de leo (m. s.) vlvula de dreno (f. s.) compressor de ar (m. s.) caf (m. s.) exame (m. s.) -

Lesson 10
What is he doing?

in / at the garden, backyard what? it is that doing What is it that? What is he doing? cutting grass Hes mowing/cutting the grass also, too with with him playing dog in / at the living room What are they doing? studying for (here) exam Portuguese exam outside watering plants room her, of her bed garage repairing their, of them car office working watering drinking trying, attempting daily report oil level drain valve air compressor black coffee exam

Conversation
Ana: Onde est o Carlos? Jos: (Ele) est no quintal. Ana: O que est ele a fazer no quintal? Jos: (Ele) est a regar as flores. Ana: A Alice tambm est no quintal? Jos: Sim,(ela) est. Ana: E o que est ela a fazer l? Jos: (Ela) est a brincar com o co. Ana: E o Jorge e o Miguel. Onde esto eles? Jos: (Eles) esto na sala de estar. Ana: E o que esto eles a fazer l? - Where is Carlos? - He is in the backyard. - Whats he doing in the backyard? - He is watering the flowers. - Is Alice in the backyard, too? - Yes, she is. - And whats she doing there? - Shes playing with the dog. - And Jorge and Miguel. Where are they? - Theyre in the living room. - And what are they doing there?

Teresa: (Eles) esto a estudar para o exame de portugus. Theyre studying for the Portuguese exam.

Practice Conversations
Listen and repeat.
1. Margarida: Joo: Margarida: Joo: 2. Maria: Vanessa: Maria: Vanessa: 3. Garcia: Paulo: Garcia: Paulo: 4. Sr. Bruno: Joana: Sr Bruno: Joana: Joo, Onde est o Roberto? Est l fora. E o que est ele a fazer? (Ele) est a regar as plantas. Vanessa, onde est a Ctia? (Ela) est no quarto dela. E o que est ela a fazer? (Ela) est a fazer a cama. Paulo, onde esto o Ronaldo e o Lus? (Eles) esto na garagem. E o que esto eles a fazer l? (Eles) esto a reparar o carro deles. Joana, onde esto a Maria e a Rosa? (Elas) esto no escritrio. E o que esto elas a fazer? (Elas) esto a beber um caf! Joo, where is Roberot? Hes outside. And whats he doing? Hes watering the plants. Vanessa, wheres Ctia? Shes in her room. And whats she doing? Shes making the bed. Paulo, wher are Ronaldo and Lus? Theyre at the garage. And what are they doing there? Theyre repairing their car. Joana, where are Maria and Rosa? They are in the office. And what are they doping? Theyre drinking a coffee!

5. Antnio: Rodrigo: 6. Vera: Ctia: 7. Lus: Victor: 8. David: Carlos:

Ol, Rodrigo. O que ests a fazer? (Eu) estou a verificar o nvel de leo do compressor de ar. Ol, Ctia. O que ests a fazer? (Eu) estou a estudar para o exame de ingls.

Hi, Rodrigo. What are you doing? Im checking the oil level in the compressor. Hi, Ctia. What are you doing? Im studying the English exam.

Ol Victor. O que ests a fazer? Hi, Victor. What are you doing? (Eu) estou a tentar abrir esta vlvula de dreno. Im trying to open this drain valve. Ol, Carlos. O que ests a fazer? (Eu) estou a fazer o meu relatrio dirio. Hi, Carlos. What are you doing? Im doing my daily report.

Now practise the conversations above with a partner or by yourself.

Estar a + infinitive
Estar followed by a + infinitive expresses an action currently taking place: Examples:
A: B: A: B: A: B: Onde est o Pedro? Est a tomar banho. Onde esto eles? Esto na oficina. E o que esto eles a fazer? Esto a soldar. Where is Pedro? Hes taking a bath. Where are they? Theyre in the workshop. And what are they doing? Theyre welding.

Speaking practice using estar a + infinitive.

3

A:

Study the examples:

1. Eles / fumar (They/smoking) A: O que esto eles a fazer? B: (Eles) esto a fumar. 2. Ela / beber vinho (She/drinking wine) A: O que est ela a fazer? B: (Ela) est a beber vinho. 3. Ele / cantar (He/singing) A: O que est ele a fazer? B: (Ele) est a cantar.

Now, with a partner, you do the same.

1. Eles / danar A: B 3. Eles / escrever A: B: 5. Ele / nadar (He/swimming) A: B: 7. Ele / cozinhar A: B: 9. A: B: Ela / telefonar (She/telephoning) (He/cooking) (Eles/writing) (They/dancing) 2. Ela / comer A: B: 4. Eles / ler A: B: 6. Eles / correr (They/running) A: B: 8. Ele / ver televiso (He/watching television) A: B: 10. Ele / dormir (He/sleeping) A: B: (They/reading) (She/eating)

11. Ela / lavar pratos (She/washinhg the dishes)

12. Ele / fazer a barba (He/shaving)

A: B: 13.Eles / ouvir rdio A; B: 15. Ela / pintar uma estante (She/painting a bookcase) A: B: (They/listening to the rdio)

A: B: 14.Ele / escrever mquina (He/typing) A: B: 16. Eles/jogar bola. (They/playing soccer) A: B:

C.

Complete with estar a + infinitive.

- drawing - ironing - eating a steak - playing cards - learning portuguese - working - listening to the radio - washing the dishes - painting the wall - welding a pipe. - closing the valve - tightening a screw - drinking beer - eating lunch - eating dinner

1. Eles _______ ___ __________ (desenhar). 2. Ela ________ ___ _________ (passar a ferro) 3. Voc _______ ___ _________ (comer) um bife. 4. Ns ________ ___ _________ (jogar) s cartas. 5. Eu _________ ___ _________ (aprender) portugus 6. Elas ________ ___ _________ (trabalhar) 7. Tu _________ ___ _________ (ouvir) o rdio. 8. Vocs ______ ___ _________ (lavar) pratos. 9. Ela ________ ___ _________ (pintar) a parede. 10. Eles _______ ___ _________ (soldar) um tubo. 11. Ele _________ ___ _________ (fechar) a vlvula 12. Eu ________ ___ _________ (apertar) um parafuso 13. Ns ________ ___ _________ (beber) cerveja. 14. Vocs ______ ___ _________ (almoar) 15. Eles ________ ___ _________ (jantar)

D.

Complete the conversation with estar a + infinitive. Use these verbs: correr, fazer, regar, brincar.
Pedro: Maria: Pedro: Maria: Pedro: Maria: Pedro: Maria: Pedro: Maria: Pedro: Maria: Maria. Onde est a Carla? Est no quintal. O que ______ ela _____ ________? _____ ____ ______ na relva. O Bruno tambm est no quintal? Sim, est. E o que est ele a fazer? ______ ____ ______ as flores. E o gato. Onde est o gato? Est no quintal, tambm. E o que est ele a fazer? ______ ____ ______ com a Carla.. Maria, wheres Carla? Shes in the backyard. Whats she doing? Shes running across the grass. Is Bruno in the backyard too? Yes, he is. And whats he doing? Hes watering the flowers. And the cat. Where is the cat? Its also in the backyard. And whats it doing? Itsplaying with Carla.

Numbers 201 - 500

5

A.

Listen and repeat.

202 duzentos e dois / duas 210 duzentos e dez 211 duzentos e onze 220 duzentos e vinte

201 duzentos e um / uma 221 duzentos e vinte e um / uma 250 duzentos e cinquenta 300 trezentos

222 230 duzentos e duzentos e vinte e dois / trinta duas 260 duzentos e sessenta 350 trezentos e cinquenta

231 240 duzentos e duzentos e trinta e um / quarenta uma

270 280 290 duzentos e duzentos e duzentos e setenta oitenta noventa 400 450 500 quatrocentos quatrocentos e cinquenta quinhentos

B.

Numbers 201 - 500

Now listen and circle the numbers you hear. a) b) c) d) e) f) 200 233 390 366 407 455 215 210 377 315 456 400 220 256 333 398 479 466 240 260 310 300 483 478 270 290 346 387 488 432

Read about it.

To talk about an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking, Portuguese uses the following construction: Estar a + infinitive - Ele est a fazer a barba. - Eles esto a ver televiso. - Voc no est a compreender. - Eu j estou a ficar nervoso. - Ela est a cozinhar. - A me est a limpar o quarto. Hes shaving. (now) They are watching TV. (now) Youre not getting my meaning. Im already beginning to feel nervous. Shes cooking. Mother is cleaning the bedroom.

Note: 1.

Sometimes we use the above construction with the frequency adverb sempre (always) to express a repeated action that annoys the speaker:
Hes always phoning his wife. She keeps asking the same questions!

- Ele est sempre a telefonar mulher. - Ela est sempre a fazer as mesma perguntas!

2.

Sometimes andar a + infinitive (be + -ing form or have been + -ing) is employed instead of estar a + infinitive: Hes learning/He has been learning Portuguese. (and still is) Ive been working since I was 12.

- Ele anda a aprender portugus. - (Eu) ando a trabalhar desde os 12 anos.

As seen in the last two examples, andar a + infinitive stresses a gradual progression rather than an action taking place now.

Word stress

Basic rules of word stress in Portuguese It would be pretentious and almost impossible to establish accurate word stress in a book like this. Therefore, I will be giving you some basic rules which should help you understand the word stress in Portuguese: a) When a word ends in -a, -e, -o, -m (except -im, -um and their plural forms) or -s, the second last syllable is stressed: pescada lente livro virgem dentes virgin whiting (a fish) lens book teeth

Note: If the syllable next to the last is an immediately preceding -i or -u, the
stress falls on it: filosofia navio continuem pronuncie phylosophy ship (you) continue (you) pronounce

b) When a word ends in -, -s, -i, -u, -im (and plural), -om (and plural) -um (and plural), -n or a consonant other than -m or -s, the stress falls on the last syllable: ma irms aqui hindu jardim jardins bombom atum apple sisters here hindu garden gardens chocalate candy tuna fish

Summary
eu estou tu ests voc o senhor a senhora ele ela ns estamos vocs os senhores as senhoras eles elas trabalhar correr cantar tomar banho cozinhar lavar pratos fechar a vlvula ver televiso beber nadar dormir apertar parafusos estudar portugus

est a

esto

Numbers 201 - 500

duzentos e um / uma, duzentos e dois / duas, trezentos, quatrocentos, quinhentos