I can give the date and the time, describe my day with reflexive verbs, talk about what I like, and tell “right now” from “usually” and “soon”.
What we review
What we review
There are no new rules in this lesson: we review four things from the module.
• The date and the day of the week: “à segunda-feira” — every week, “na segunda-feira” — just once; a month takes “em”, a day of the month “de”.
• Telling time and meals: “São” almost always, “É” for one o'clock, noon, and midnight; a meeting time is “às nove”, a span of time “das nove às cinco”.
• Reflexive verbs: the short word goes after the verb with a hyphen, but before it after “não”, a question word, and “nunca”.
• Likes and time: gostar always takes its preposition; “right now” is estar a + infinitive, “usually” is the plain present, “soon” is ir + infinitive.
Reflexive verbs: levantar-se
In the nós form, the -s drops only when the short pronoun comes after the verb: levantamo-nos. Before the verb (não nos levantamos), the form stays whole. You'll learn the name for this at A2.
| Who | Short pronoun | Verb form |
|---|---|---|
| eu | me | levanto-me |
| tu | te | levantas-te |
| ele, ela, você, o senhor | se | levanta-se |
| nós | nos | levantamo-nos |
| eles, elas, vocês | se | levantam-se |
Soon, usually, starting, just done
Each construction has its own preposition, or none at all.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ir + infinitive | soon, a plan | vou passear logo |
| costumar + infinitive | usually | costumo ler à noite |
| começar a + infinitive | I'm starting | começo a estudar |
| acabar de + infinitive | have just | acabo de comer |
Estar a + infinitive
After “a” always comes the infinitive.
| Who | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| eu | estou a | estou a cozinhar |
| tu | estás a | estás a passear |
| ele, ela, você | está a | está a comer |
| nós | estamos a | estamos a estudar |
| eles, elas, vocês | estão a | estão a trabalhar |
Lesson notes
What we review
There are no new rules in this lesson: we review four things from the module.
• The date and the day of the week: “à segunda-feira” — every week, “na segunda-feira” — just once; a month takes “em”, a day of the month “de”.
• Telling time and meals: “São” almost always, “É” for one o'clock, noon, and midnight; a meeting time is “às nove”, a span of time “das nove às cinco”.
• Reflexive verbs: the short word goes after the verb with a hyphen, but before it after “não”, a question word, and “nunca”.
• Likes and time: gostar always takes its preposition; “right now” is estar a + infinitive, “usually” is the plain present, “soon” is ir + infinitive.