Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: a Practical Guide
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Modern BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE Grammar Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: A Practical Guide is an innovative reference guide to Brazilian Portuguese, combining traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume. The Grammar is divided into two parts. Part A covers traditional grammatical categories such as agreement, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Part B is carefully organized around language functions covering all major communication situations such as: • Establishing identity • Making contact • Expressing likes, dislikes and preferences. With a strong emphasis on contemporary usage, all grammar points and functions are richly illustrated with examples. Main features of the Grammar include: • Clear, jargon-free explanations • Emphasis on the language as it is spoken and written today • Extensive cross-referencing between the different sections. A combination of reference grammar and practical usage manual, Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar is the ideal source for learners of Brazilian Portuguese at all levels, from beginner to advanced. John Whitlam is a freelance writer, university lecturer and lexicographer based in Rio de Janeiro. He has authored a number of language teaching books and project-coordinated and co-authored three of the best-selling bilingual dictionaries of Portuguese and English. Routledge Modern Grammars Series concept and development – Sarah Butler Other books in the series: Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Workbook Modern German Grammar, Second Edition Modern German Grammar Workbook, Second Edition Modern Spanish Grammar, Second Edition Modern Spanish Grammar Workbook, Second Edition Modern Italian Grammar, Second Edition Modern Italian Grammar Workbook, Second Edition Modern French Grammar, Second Edition Modern French Grammar Workbook, Second Edition Modern BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE Grammar A Practical Guide John Whitlam First edition published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2011 John Whitlam All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Whitlam, John. Modern Brazilian Portuguese grammar : a practical guide / John Whitlam. – 1st edn p.cm. – (Routledge modern grammars) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Portuguese language – Grammar. 2. Portuguese language – Textbooks for foreign speakers – English. 3. Portuguese language – Spoken Portugese. I. Title. PC5444.W45 2011 469′.798—dc22 2010009096 ISBN 0-203-84392-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–56643–6 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–56644–4 (pbk) ISBN10: 0–203–84392–4 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–56643–8 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–56644–5 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–84392–5 (ebk) Contents Introduction 1 Glossary of grammatical terms 3 Part A Structures 1 Pronunciation and spelling 11 1.1 The Portuguese alphabet 11 1.2 Consonant sounds 11 1.3 Oral vowel sounds 13 1.4 Nasal vowel sounds 14 1.5 Spelling and pronunciation 15 1.6 Syllabification 16 1.7 Stress and written accents 17 1.8 Hyphenation 19 1.9 Use of capital letters 20 1.10 Punctuation 21 2 Gender and gender agreement 22 2.1 What is grammatical gender? 22 2.2 Rules for determining gender 22 2.3 Feminine forms of nouns and adjectives 25 3 Number and number agreement 27 3.1 Singular vs. plural 27 3.2 Forming the plural of nouns and adjectives 27 3.3 Plurals referring collectively to males and females 29 3.4 Use of singular and plural 30 3.5 Countability 31 4 Articles 32 4.1 The definite article 32 4.2 The indefinite article 35 5 Adjectives and adverbs 38 5.1 Position of adjectives 38 5.2 Adjectives that always precede the noun 38 5.3 Adjectives with different meanings according to their position 39 5.4 Adjectives used as nouns 41 5.5 Adjectives used as adverbs 42 v CONTENTS 5.6 Formation of adverbs of manner 43 5.7 Position of adverbs and adverbials 43 5.8 Comparison of adjectives and adverbs 44 5.9 Irregular comparative forms 44 5.10 The syntax of comparative sentences 45 5.11 The absolute superlative 46 5.12 Colloquial intensifiers 47 6 Numbers and numerical expressions 48 6.1 Cardinal numbers 48 6.2 Ordinal numbers 49 6.3 Collective numbers 50 6.4 Dates 51 6.5 Clock time 51 6.6 Fractions 53 6.7 Decimal fractions 53 6.8 Percentages 53 6.9 Monetary amounts 54 6.10 Monarchs, popes, etc. 54 7 Personal pronouns 55 7.1 First person pronouns 55 7.2 You 56 7.3 Third person pronouns 58 7.4 Use of subject pronouns 60 7.5 Placement of unstressed object pronouns 61 7.6 More about indirect pronoun objects 65 7.7 Pronouns used with prepositions 66 7.8 Emphatic uses of object pronouns 66 7.9 Non-standard pronouns 67 7.10 Brazilian personal pronoun usage – quick reference tables 68 8 Demonstratives 70 8.1 Introduction 70 8.2 Forms and meaning 70 8.3 Usage 70 8.4 Neuter demonstrative pronouns 72 8.5 Demonstrative adverbs ‘here’ and ‘there’ 73 9 Possessives 75 9.1 Introduction 75 9.2 Forms 75 9.3 Usage 75 9.4 Omission of possessives 77 9.5 próprio ‘own’ 78 9.6 Possessives after the verb ser ‘to be’ 78 9.7 The second person possessive teu(s)/tua(s) 78 9.8 Special use of the possessive seu(s)/sua(s) 79 10 Relative pronouns 80 10.1 que 80 10.2 quem 80 vi CONTENTS 10.3 o que 81 10.4 o/a qual, os/as quais 81 10.5 cujo(s), cuja(s) 82 10.6 quanto(s)/quanta(s) 82 10.7 onde 83 10.8 Note on translating ‘when’ as a relative 83 11 Interrogatives 84 11.1 o que 84 11.2 que 84 11.3 qual, quais 84 11.4 quem 85 11.5 quanto(s)/quanta(s) 86 11.6 como 86 11.7 onde 87 11.8 quando 87 11.9 por que 88 11.10 para que 88 11.11 quão 88 11.12 Other points about interrogatives 88 12 Exclamations 91 12.1 que 91 12.2 quanto(s)/quanta(s) 91 12.3 como 91 13 Indefinite adjectives and pronouns 93 13.1 todo(s)/toda(s) 93 13.2 tudo 94 13.3 ambos/as 95 13.4 cada 96 13.5 qualquer 96 13.6 alguém 97 13.7 algum/alguma, alguns/algumas 97 13.8 alguma coisa 98 13.9 algo 98 13.10 outro(s)/outra(s) 98 13.11 tal 99 13.12 Adjectives and pronouns of quantity 100 13.13 Other indefinite adjectives and pronouns 102 13.14 ‘Else’ 103 14 Negatives 104 14.1 não 104 14.2 nada 105 14.3 ninguém 105 14.4 nunca 106 14.5 jamais 106 14.6 nem 106 14.7 nenhum/nenhuma 107 14.8 sem 107 vii CONTENTS 15 Regular verb conjugations 109 15.1 Introduction to Portuguese verbs: how the system works 109 15.2 The infinitive and the stem 109 15.3 Simple tenses: present indicative 110 15.4 Simple tenses: imperfect indicative 110 15.5 Simple tenses: preterite indicative 111 15.6 Simple tenses: present subjunctive 111 15.7 Simple tenses: imperfect subjunctive 112 15.8 Simple tenses: future subjunctive 112 15.9 Future and conditional tenses 112 15.10 Simple pluperfect tense 113 15.11 Stress patterns in regular verbs 113 15.12 Spelling conventions governing regular verbs 114 16 Semi-irregular and irregular verbs 116 16.1 Radical-changing verbs 116 16.2 Semi-irregular verbs 117 16.3 Irregular verbs 118 17 Gerunds, past participles, compound tenses and the passive 123 17.1 Gerunds 123 17.2 Past participles 124 17.3 Compound tenses 125 17.4 The passive 126 18 Use of the tenses 128 18.1 Present simple 128 18.2 Present continuous 128 18.3 Imperfect 129 18.4 Imperfect continuous 130 18.5 Preterite 130 18.6 Perfect 131 18.7 Pluperfect 131 18.8 Future tense 131 18.9 Future perfect 132 18.10 Conditional 132 18.11 Conditional perfect 133 19 The infinitive 134 19.1 Introduction 134 19.2 Uses of the infinitive 134 19.3 Impersonal vs. personal infinitive 135 19.4 Use of the infinitive after prepositions 136 19.5 Verbs followed by the infinitive 137 19.6 Cases where either the impersonal or personal infinitive may be used 139 19.7 Personal infinitive with the same subject as the main verb 140 19.8 Position of object pronouns with the infinitive 140 19.9 Other uses of the infinitive 141 20 The subjunctive 143 20.1 Introduction 143 viii CONTENTS 20.2 Sequence of tenses 143 20.3 The present or imperfect subjunctive in subordinate clauses 144 20.4 The future or imperfect subjunctive in subordinate clauses 146 20.5 The subjunctive in conditional clauses 147 20.6 The subjunctive in main clauses 148 20.7 Idiomatic uses of the subjunctive 149 20.8 Subjunctive vs.