Portuguese Year 2: Verbs, personal pronouns and interjections
Portuguese, Year 2 (Portugal): Words for what happens, words that stand for a name, words that show feeling, and the infinitive, the name of the verb.
Verb, pronoun, interjection and infinitive
The verb says what someone does, how they are, or what happens in nature: «a Ana corre» (Ana runs), «o céu é azul» (the sky is blue), «chove» (it rains). The personal pronoun stands in for a noun: eu, tu, ele, ela, nós, eles, elas («A Ana canta» → «Ela canta»). The interjection shows a feeling or calls attention: «Ai!», «Ui!», «Viva!». The infinitive is the name of the verb, the form found in the dictionary: it ends in -ar, -er or -ir (or -or, as in «pôr»): cantar, comer, partir.
Each class has its job
Each word class has its job in the sentence: the noun says who or what; the verb, what happens; the pronoun saves words; the interjection adds feeling. Instead of «A Ana come. A Ana ri. A Ana canta.» (Ana eats. Ana laughs. Ana sings.) you say «A Ana come. Ela ri e canta.» (Ana eats. She laughs and sings.) And the infinitive is how verbs are filed: in the dictionary «corre» (runs) is looked up under «correr».
Analysing a sentence
Sentence: «Viva, ela canta uma canção bonita!» (Hooray, she is singing a beautiful song!) Step 1, who does it? «ela»: personal pronoun, standing for a name («a Ana»). Step 2, what does she do? «canta»: verb. Step 3, the infinitive: «canta» comes from «cantar». Step 4, the rest: «uma» is an article, «canção» a common noun, «bonita» an adjective (it says what the song is like). Step 5: «Viva» is an interjection, showing the speaker's joy.
Three easy mistakes
Three mistakes. One: thinking a verb is only what you do with your body. «Ser» (to be), «estar» (to be), «dormir» (to sleep) and «chover» (to rain) are verbs too. Two: looking up «corre» or «canta» in the dictionary: you look up the infinitive, «correr» and «cantar». Three: thinking «Viva!» or «Ui!» are part of the action: they are interjections, words that show what you feel.
Where you meet these words
In the dictionary, every verb appears in the infinitive. In comics, interjections fill the speech bubbles: «Uau!», «Ai!» (Wow! Ouch!). In texts, pronouns avoid repeating the name. And when you talk, you say «eu», «tu» and «nós» (I, you, we) without thinking: you already use personal pronouns every day.
Test what you learned
Which of these words is an interjection (interjeição)?
- a) «cantar»
- b) «Uau!»
- c) «ela»
Correct answer: b) «Uau!» — Yes: it shows a feeling (surprise, admiration); it does not name anything or say what happens.
In «Nós comemos a sopa» (We eat the soup), which word is the verb, and in which form do you look it up in the dictionary?
- a) «nós», found as «nós»
- b) «comemos», found as «comemos»
- c) «comemos», found as «comer»
Correct answer: c) «comemos», found as «comer» — Yes: «comemos» is the verb (what we do), and its infinitive is «comer».
In «Chove!» (It's raining!), what kind of word is «chove»?
- a) A noun, because rain is a thing
- b) An interjection, because of the exclamation mark
- c) None, because nobody is doing anything
- d) A verb, because it says what happens in nature
Correct answer: d) A verb, because it says what happens in nature — Yes: «chove» comes from the verb «chover»; it says what happens in nature.
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