Portuguese Year 4: Fact or opinion? What is said and what is meant
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): Separate what can be checked from what someone thinks, work out what is left unsaid and understand words that say more than the dictionary.
Three pairs for better listening
A fact can be checked («A escola abre às 9 horas», “The school opens at 9”); an opinion is what someone thinks (“Acho a escola ótima”, “I think school is great”). Explicit information is said; implicit information is left unsaid and found through clues. Denotation is the dictionary meaning («leão» is an animal); connotation is what the word suggests: «É um leão!» said of a player means brave.
So you do not get only half
Whoever hears only the words said gets half. Separating facts from opinions helps you decide for yourself: an advert that says «o melhor sumo do mundo» (“the best juice in the world”) gives an opinion, not a fact. People also do not say everything, so you look for clues to what is implicit. And words carry ideas beyond the dictionary: someone who says «um leão» hardly ever means the animal.
Listening to Tomás, step by step
You hear Tomás: «Cheguei ao pavilhão às 9 horas. Aquilo era um forno! Foi o melhor jogo do ano. Vim para casa com o cabelo a pingar.» (I got to the sports hall at 9. It was an oven! It was the best game of the year. I came home with my hair dripping.) Step 1: «Cheguei às 9 horas» is a fact (it can be checked); «o melhor jogo do ano» is an opinion. Step 2: said: the dripping hair; implicit: he probably played hard and sweated (the clue is «forno»). Step 3: «forno» means a kitchen appliance in the dictionary (denotation); here the connotation is “very hot”.
Said with certainty, it is still an opinion
Many people think a sentence said with certainty, or repeated by many, is a fact. It is not: «Toda a gente sabe que o verde é a cor mais bonita» (“Everyone knows green is the prettiest colour”) is still an opinion, because it depends on taste. The test: can I check this (on a clock, a map, in a book)? If yes, it is a fact; if it depends on taste, it is an opinion.
Adverts, news and conversations
You use this in an advert («o melhor do mundo» is an opinion; «tem 6 ovos», “it has 6 eggs”, is a fact), in a news report, in a chat about a match or a film, and in songs and stories that use words with a deeper meaning. Whoever separates what can be checked from what someone thinks, and reads the clues, understands better and chooses better what to believe.
Test what you learned
You hear: «Na equipa, a Ana é uma leoa!» (On the team, Ana is a lioness!) What is meant about Ana?
- a) That Ana is an animal
- b) That Ana plays with great courage and strength
- c) That Ana has a mane
- d) That Ana is taller than the others
Correct answer: b) That Ana plays with great courage and strength — Yes: «leoa» suggests courage and strength. That is the connotation, not the dictionary meaning.
You hear: «O Rui apareceu à porta com o guarda-chuva a pingar.» (Rui showed up at the door with his umbrella dripping.) Which information is implicit?
- a) That Rui has an umbrella
- b) That Rui appeared at the door
- c) That Rui was angry
- d) That it was raining (or had rained) outside
Correct answer: d) That it was raining (or had rained) outside — Yes: a dripping umbrella is a clue to rain. It is not said, so it is implicit.
A classmate says, very sure of himself: «Toda a gente sabe que o futebol é o melhor desporto.» (Everyone knows football is the best sport.) Is that a fact?
- a) No, it is an opinion, even said with great certainty
- b) Yes, because “everyone knows”
- c) Yes, because it talks about football
- d) Yes, if enough people agree
Correct answer: a) No, it is an opinion, even said with great certainty — Yes: “the best” depends on taste and cannot be checked. Certainty does not make a fact.
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