Lesson 2. Roupa, cores e compras: Quanto custa?

To pick out an item in a store, you name it together with its color. A color is an adjective, and unlike in English it comes AFTER the noun: “um casaco preto”. Its ending changes with gender and number, while English “black” never changes: preto, preta, pretos, pretas. Colors ending in -e or a consonant don't change for gender: “uma saia verde”, “um casaco verde”. In the plural they do change: verdes, azuis (the familiar rule -l → -is). Two colors never change at all: cor de laranja and cor-de-rosa. The full table is alongside. In writing, watch the letter pairs: vermelho and castanho are written with two letters, but each pair is a single sound. Common mistakes: • NOT “um preto casaco” — um casaco preto. • NOT “uma saia vermelho” — uma saia vermelha. • NOT “umas saias cor-de-rosas” — umas saias cor-de-rosa.

For one item you ask “Quanto custa este casaco?”, for several, “Quanto custam estas sapatilhas?”, just as English switches from “How much is” to “How much are”. Say a price in words: “doze euros e cinquenta” (€12.50). Figures appear only on the price tag, with a comma where English has a period: 12,50 €. Exactly one hundred is cem; after that comes cento: cento e um, cento e cinquenta. The hundreds change with gender: duzentos euros, but duzentas casas. A thousand is mil, with no um (English says “one thousand”); after um milhão comes de: “um milhão de euros”. Size: for clothes it's o tamanho, for shoes o número (the same word as in a phone number). To try something on: “Posso experimentar?”. You pay em dinheiro (in cash) and com cartão (by card). In writing: qu before a and o is read [kw], as in “queen”: quanto, quatro; before e and i the u is usually silent: que, quilo. Common mistakes: • NOT “Quanto custa as sapatilhas?” — Quanto custam as sapatilhas? • NOT “cem e um euros” — cento e um euros. • NOT “um mil euros” — mil euros. • NOT “duzentos casas” — duzentas casas.