Portuguese Year 4: Writing it right: spelling rules
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): Explain why words are spelled as they are: m before p and b, r and rr, c and ç, g and gu.
Four useful rules
To explain a spelling rule is to say why a word is written that way. Four useful rules. 1) Before p and b we write m (campo, bombom); before other consonants, n (cinco, tanto). 2) Between vowels, the soft r is written r (caro) and the strong r is written rr (carro). 3) The sound «s» is written ç before a, o, u (caça, açúcar) and c before e, i (cedo, cinco). 4) For the sound «g» before e or i we write gu (guerra, guitarra); g alone before e or i sounds like in «gelo».
One sound, many ways of writing it
Portuguese has sounds that can be written in several ways: the sound «s» can be s, ss, c or ç; the sound of «g» in «gelo» can be g or j. Learning word by word would be impossible. The rules tell you when to use each letter, and they help you write even words you do not know yet.
Explain the rule for each word
Explain the rule for each word. Step 1: «campo» (field): after the a comes a p, so we write m before the p. Step 2: «carro» (car): the r is strong and between vowels, so we write rr; in «caro» (expensive) the r is soft and we write only one. Step 3: «caça» (hunt): the sound «s» before a asks for ç. Step 4: «guitarra» (guitar): the sound «g» before i asks for gu, and the strong r asks for rr.
Writing as it sounds
The commonest mistake is to write as it sounds. Is «caro» said like «carro»? No: one r is soft and the other is strong, and the meaning changes: «caro» is the opposite of cheap; «carro» is the vehicle. Another mistake is to put ç where it cannot be. The ç is never written before e or i, nor at the beginning of a word.
Notes, homework and messages
You use the rules whenever you write: a note, homework, a message, a poster. Writing well helps others understand you, and when you are unsure, a rule helps more than a guess: “Does it come before a p? Then it is m.”
Test what you learned
Which letter do we write before p and b, as in «campo» and «bombom»?
- a) n
- b) ç
- c) rr
- d) m
Correct answer: d) m — Yes: before p and b we write m: campo, bombom, embalar.
Which is the correct spelling of the string instrument «guitarra»?
- a) gitarra
- b) guitarra
- c) guitara
- d) gitara
Correct answer: b) guitarra — Yes: «gu» keeps the hard g before i, and «rr» writes the strong r between vowels.
«O pai comprou um ___ novo para viajar.» (Dad bought a new ___ to travel in.) Which word fits?
- a) carro
- b) caro
- c) cárro
Correct answer: a) carro — Yes: «carro» (with rr, strong r) is the vehicle you travel in.
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