Portuguese Year 2: Words I understand and words I use
Portuguese, Year 2 (Portugal): Work out new words from the clues in the sentence and move them into your own sentences.
Two chests of words
All the words you know make up your lexicon. Imagine two chests. In the first are the words you understand when you hear or read them: this is passive vocabulary. In the second are the words you say or write yourself: this is active vocabulary. The first chest is always bigger. Your vocabulary grows when a new word gets into the first chest and then moves into the second.
More words, more ideas
Whoever knows more words understands better what they hear and read, and explains better what they think. If you only know «grande» and «pequeno» (big and small), everything is big or small. If you also know «enorme» and «minúsculo» (huge and tiny), you say exactly what you saw. Each new word is one more tool for thinking. Nobody learns them all at once: they pile up little by little, out of curiosity.
Working out «esfomeado»
You read: «O Rui estava esfomeado e comeu duas fatias de pizza.» (Rui was starving and ate two slices of pizza.) Step 1: Find the new word: «esfomeado». Step 2: Look for clues. In the sentence, Rui ate two slices. Inside the word, there is «fome» (hunger). Step 3: Guess: «com muita fome» (very hungry). Step 4: Try it: «O Rui estava com muita fome e comeu duas fatias.» It makes sense! Step 5: Use the word in a sentence of your own: «Depois do jogo, fiquei esfomeado.» (After the game I was starving.)
Knowing is not the same as using
It is easy to think: “This word is already mine, because I understand it.” But understanding only puts it in the first chest. If you never say it or write it, it stays passive. To move it to the second chest, you must use it in a sentence of your own, spoken or written. And beware of words that fit everything, like «coisa» (thing): they say nothing. Look for the exact word: «o lápis», «a bola» (the pencil, the ball).
Where you meet new words
You find new words in books, in stories that are read to you, in talks with your grandparents and in films. When you plant a bean, you hear «germinar» (to germinate): it is when the seed starts to grow. When you hear a word you do not know, ask what it means and use it that same day. That way it moves into the second chest.
Test what you learned
Sara reads «faminto» (starving) in a book and understands it at once, but she never says it herself. In which vocabulary is this word for her?
- a) In her active vocabulary
- b) In her passive vocabulary
- c) In neither: she does not know the word yet
Correct answer: b) In her passive vocabulary — Yes: she understands the word when she reads it, but she does not use it yet. That is passive vocabulary.
«A Lia estava exausta e adormeceu no sofá.» (Lia was … and fell asleep on the sofa.) What does «exausta» mean?
- a) com muita fome (very hungry)
- b) muito feliz (very happy)
- c) muito cansada (very tired)
- d) a correr (running)
Correct answer: c) muito cansada (very tired) — Yes: she fell asleep on the sofa, so she was very tired. Try it in the sentence and it makes sense.
Tomás understands «germinar» (to germinate) when he hears it, but never uses it. What should he do to move it into his active vocabulary?
- a) Use it in a sentence of his own, spoken or written
- b) Hear it many times without ever saying it
- c) Copy the whole dictionary explanation
- d) Say «coisa» instead of it
Correct answer: a) Use it in a sentence of his own, spoken or written — Yes: a word becomes active when you use it yourself, for example «O feijão começou a germinar.» (The bean began to germinate.)
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