Portuguese Year 2: Full stop, comma and revising a text
Portuguese, Year 2 (Portugal): The full stop closes an idea, the comma separates items and comes before «mas», and revising means reading again and deciding together.
Full stop and comma
The full stop ends a sentence: the idea is finished and the next sentence starts with a capital letter. The comma is a small pause inside a sentence. Use it in a list: «Comprei maçãs, peras e uvas.» (I bought apples, pears and grapes.) The commas separate the items, and none goes before the last «e». Use a comma before «mas» too: «Queria ir, mas chovia.» (I wanted to go, but it was raining.)
A comma can change everything
When you speak, you pause and change your voice, and the listener understands. When you write, punctuation does that job, and one comma can change everything: «Vamos comer, avó!» (Let's eat, Grandma!) calls Grandma to the table; «Vamos comer a avó!» (Let's eat Grandma!) is a scare. The full stop tells the reader that an idea is over, and the capital letter says another one begins.
Ana and Rui revise a text
Ana's text: «a Ana foi ao mercado comprou maçãs peras e uvas queria bolachas mas não havia». Step 1: read it quietly; the voice stops after «mercado» and after «uvas». Step 2: put a full stop and a capital letter there. Step 3: commas in the list («maçãs, peras e uvas») and before «mas». Step 4: Rui wanted to cut the last sentence; Ana explained why and they agreed to keep it. Result: «A Ana foi ao mercado. Comprou maçãs, peras e uvas. Queria bolachas, mas não havia.» (Ana went to the market. She bought apples, pears and grapes. She wanted biscuits, but there were none.)
Sentences without end and commas in the wrong place
Two common mistakes. The first: writing one huge sentence with «e… e… e…» and never using a full stop: «Fui à escola e vi o Rui e ele deu-me um livro e depois…» (I went to school and saw Rui and he gave me a book and then…). When the idea ends, stop: full stop and capital letter. The second: a comma where the idea is not finished: «O gato, dorme» is wrong, because nobody pauses between «o gato» and «dorme». If in doubt, read aloud and see where the voice stops.
Where you punctuate and revise
You punctuate when you write a message to your family, a shopping list («ovos, leite, pão», eggs, milk, bread), a birthday card or a note. And you revise whenever someone else will read what you wrote: before handing in a piece of work, read it again, alone or with a classmate, and ask: «Percebe-se? Falta algum ponto final?» (Is it clear? Is a full stop missing?). Two pairs of eyes catch more than one.
Test what you learned
Which of these sentences puts the commas in the right place? (All three are about buying bread, milk and eggs.)
- a) «Comprei pão leite e ovos.»
- b) «Comprei pão, leite e ovos.»
- c) «Comprei, pão, leite, e ovos.»
Correct answer: b) «Comprei pão, leite e ovos.» — Right: commas between the items and none before the last «e».
This text has no punctuation: «O Rui abriu a mochila tirou o livro mas esqueceu-se do caderno». Which version is best? (Rui opened his bag, took out the book but forgot the notebook.)
- a) «O Rui abriu a mochila. Tirou o livro, mas esqueceu-se do caderno.»
- b) «O Rui abriu a mochila, tirou o livro mas, esqueceu-se do caderno.»
- c) «O Rui, abriu a mochila. Tirou o livro mas esqueceu-se do caderno.»
Correct answer: a) «O Rui abriu a mochila. Tirou o livro, mas esqueceu-se do caderno.» — Right: a full stop where the idea ends, and a comma before «mas».
Sofia wrote: «Fui ao parque e vi o Rui e ele jogava à bola e eu joguei e ganhámos». What advice helps her most? (I went to the park and saw Rui and he was playing ball and I played and we won.)
- a) Add even more «e» to join everything
- b) Put a comma before every «e»
- c) Stop where each idea ends, with a full stop and a capital letter
Correct answer: c) Stop where each idea ends, with a full stop and a capital letter — Right: «Fui ao parque. Vi o Rui. Ele jogava à bola. Eu joguei e ganhámos.» Each idea gets its own sentence.
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