Portuguese Year 4: Writing a recount (relato)
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): Tell what happened in three parts, with descriptions and with the characters' words in direct and indirect speech.
Three parts, with voices
A recount tells what happened, in order. It has three parts: the initial situation (who, where, when), the events, called peripécias (what happens, one thing after another) and the conclusion (how it ends). You describe people and places so the reader can see them. And you give the characters a voice: in direct speech you write what they say, with a dash; in indirect speech you tell what they said, with «que» (that).
A story that does not get lost
Telling in parts helps the reader not to get lost: first they know where we are, then what happened and finally how it ended. Descriptions give life and speeches make the characters appear. Direct speech brings the exact voice of the one who speaks; indirect speech is shorter and lets you tell without stopping the action.
Miguel and the hat
Step 1, initial situation and description: «Numa manhã de vento, o Miguel estava na praia com um chapéu amarelo.» (One windy morning, Miguel was on the beach with a yellow hat.) Step 2, event with direct speech: «O vento levou o chapéu. — Volta! — gritou o Miguel.» (The wind took the hat. “Come back!” shouted Miguel.) Step 3, event with indirect speech: «Um senhor apanhou-o e o Miguel disse que estava agradecido.» (A man caught it and Miguel said he was grateful.) Step 4, conclusion: «No fim, riram-se todos.» (In the end, everyone laughed.)
Changing from direct to indirect
The typical mistake is to go from direct to indirect without changing the verb. If he said «Estou cansado» (I am tired), in indirect speech it becomes «Ele disse que estava cansado», not «que estou cansado». Remove the dash, join with «que», change the verb, and «eu» becomes «ele». Another mistake is telling everything in one go, with no parts: without an initial situation and a conclusion, the reader does not know where or how it ended.
Holidays, letters and the school newspaper
You write recounts when you tell what happened on a trip, when you write a letter to a friend about your holidays, when you prepare a piece for the school newspaper or when you note in a diary what you did. In books, recounts always have speeches: notice how authors mix direct speech, with a dash, and indirect speech, with «que».
Test what you learned
What are the three parts of a recount (relato)?
- a) Title, author and picture
- b) Initial situation, events (peripécias) and conclusion
- c) Question, answer and thanks
Correct answer: b) Initial situation, events (peripécias) and conclusion — Yes: where and who we start with, what happens, and how it ends.
Turn into indirect speech: «O Tomás disse: — Estou com fome.» (Tomás said: “I am hungry.”)
- a) «O Tomás disse que estou com fome.»
- b) «O Tomás disse: — estava com fome.»
- c) «O Tomás disse que estava com fome.»
Correct answer: c) «O Tomás disse que estava com fome.» — Yes: no dash, joined with «que», and the verb changed from «estou» to «estava».
«A Rita disse: — Vou ao parque.» (Rita said: “I am going to the park.”) Which is the right indirect speech?
- a) «A Rita disse que ia ao parque.»
- b) «A Rita disse que vou ao parque.»
- c) «A Rita disse: que ia ao parque.»
Correct answer: a) «A Rita disse que ia ao parque.» — Yes: «que» joins the parts and «vou» becomes «ia». The Rita of the story is the one who goes.
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