tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post8654594258375616971..comments2023-10-18T12:55:50.552+00:00Comments on At Flores in the Azores: Delia's Vocabulary CollectionNeil Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567487892239196569noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-64337657634423747832010-01-28T22:43:17.948-01:002010-01-28T22:43:17.948-01:00There's a booby-trap lurking beneath "ser...There's a booby-trap lurking beneath "ser" and "estar" + "morto":<br /><br />a) In "estar morto," "morto" is the past participle of "morrer" = to die.<br /><br />b) In "ser morto," "morto" is the (irregular) past participle of "matar" = to kill.<br /><br />I.e., two verbs with same past participle (sigh).<br /><br />P.S. Apt usage for calendar.Kathiehttp://www.mycalifornianfriends.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-88851260384093345712010-01-28T21:48:19.980-01:002010-01-28T21:48:19.980-01:00ser morto means that someone killed you (to be kil...ser morto means that someone killed you (to be killed), estar morto means being dead.Marisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-1522506449706360622010-01-28T20:59:21.534-01:002010-01-28T20:59:21.534-01:00Podes
Received the calendar BTW. Thanks very much...<i>Podes</i><br /><br />Received the calendar BTW. Thanks very much. We're going to use it as we did last year's, if we may, to record bookings for the <i>Palheiro</i> in. I hope you will find that a suitably fitting use for it. Thanks again, NeilNeil Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15567487892239196569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-60522739666193973572010-01-28T18:51:45.405-01:002010-01-28T18:51:45.405-01:00Tens razão. If I can be so familiar.Tens razão. If I can be so familiar.Kathiehttp://www.mycalifornianfriends.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-61601460922867174462010-01-28T16:37:13.439-01:002010-01-28T16:37:13.439-01:00And am I not right in thinking that that quintesse...And am I not right in thinking that that quintessentially ephemeral concept, the time, uses <i>ser</i> as in <i>São oito e meia</i>?Neil Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15567487892239196569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-40649291074926731312010-01-28T16:12:20.327-01:002010-01-28T16:12:20.327-01:00Oops, make that, "...we were given..."Oops, make that, "...we were given..."Kathiehttp://www.inolongerlikechocolates.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-38972842717683125162010-01-28T16:08:41.815-01:002010-01-28T16:08:41.815-01:00Marisa is absolutely right about a few anomalies i...Marisa is absolutely right about a few anomalies in the Portuguese language (as if we native Anglophones were in any position to criticize!).<br /><br />One of my favorite exceptions to a rule surrounds the difference between "ser" and "estar" (both meaning "to be," although the latter in a more temporary sense, like "the window is open"). In class one day when I was taking Portuguese 1, we given a list of phrases to translate into Portuguese using the proper "to be" verb. When we got to "to be dead," I reasoned that since death is rather permanent (e.g., I don't anticipate a revival for poor Percy Palmeira), I logically translated it as "ser morto" -- which turned out to be wrong: it should be "estar morto," evidently because whoever invented Portuguese believed in an afterlife. So much for logic...Kathiehttp://www.mycalifornianfriends.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-23073276171815241232010-01-28T09:49:21.997-01:002010-01-28T09:49:21.997-01:00Absolutely? well never mind. "what is your ad...Absolutely? well never mind. "what is your adress?" is correct too. The portuguese language is made of excptions to the rules, and when it comes to world of the verbs gets worse.Marisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-46046211787990755432010-01-28T09:45:45.889-01:002010-01-28T09:45:45.889-01:00Kathie is absolutly right. Sorry.... Portuguese le...Kathie is absolutly right. Sorry.... Portuguese learning in school is dificult for portuguese people too.Marisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-4700433230099438752010-01-28T00:28:00.186-01:002010-01-28T00:28:00.186-01:00Oh, the ambiguity of it all! Makes learning Portu...Oh, the ambiguity of it all! Makes learning Portuguese a real character-builder at times, huh? But please don't let this get you down, because most native speakers I've met are:<br /><br />a) very compassionate and understanding if it's not one's native language but one is making a good-faith effort to speak to them in theirs -- in other words, we get points just for the courtesy of trying; and,<br /><br />b) just as we can usually comprehend the intended meaning of a non-native speaker of English who's mangling our native tongue, so too can Portuguese usually figure out what we're trying to say (well, most of the time), notwithstanding our minor mistakes.<br /><br />So please don't get discouraged by this minor hiccup, because if a geezette like me could start learning the language in middle age, so can young'uns like you!Kathiehttp://www.mycalifornianfriends.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-79793715697591222152010-01-27T21:04:42.227-01:002010-01-27T21:04:42.227-01:00Well I stand corrected, Kathie, and am feeling a r...Well I stand corrected, Kathie, and am feeling a right chump to boot!<br /><br />If I had been setting the quiz in English, I would have worded it "What is the capital of Portugal?" rather than "Which [implicitly - of these three] is the capital of Portugal?" Hence why I convinced myself that <i>Qual</i> must be "What".<br /><br />Any native Portuguese speakers have a view? Marisa?<br /><br />All my Portuguese books are frustratingly ambivalent and translate both of <i>qual</i> and <i>que</i> as both "what" and "which".<br /><br />One book says of <i>qual</i> (and <i>quais</i>) "denotes a preference, a limited number" which is clearly "which" but then goes on to translate <i>Qual é a sua morada?</i> as "What is your address?"<br /><br />So I'm not sure there's a completely hard and fast answer but in future I shall default to the assumption that <i>qual</i> is "which" and <i>que</i> (or <i>o que</i>) is "what".Neil Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15567487892239196569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-32769063064887159832010-01-25T04:24:30.357-01:002010-01-25T04:24:30.357-01:00[Please don't shoot the messenger]
Welcome to...[Please don't shoot the messenger]<br /><br />Welcome to the wild and wacky world of Portuguese grammar: complimentary hankies available to wipe away the inevitable tears of frustration.<br /><br />"Qual" means "which" (as in, "Which of these cities is the capital?") -- while "que" is "what" (in the sense of, "What is a capital city?"). Of course, there are also idioms arbitrarily containing one or the other of these words which simply be memorized, because thinking about them too closely will make one's head hurt.<br /><br />If you haven't yet begun, you can also look forward to learning to parse the subtleties of "para" versus "por" (including the latter's forms pelo/a -s when needed in order to agree with the object of the prepositional phrase). Consider the deceptively simple sentence, "I work for him":<br /><br />"Eu trabalho para ele" (i.e., he's my boss).<br /><br />"Eu trabalho por ele" (i.e., I'm substituting for him at work).<br /><br />Let the head-banging on the computer keyboard commence, coitadinhos!Kathiehttp://www.mycalifornianfriends.comnoreply@blogger.com