Portuguese Year 5: Writing a narrative: parts and connectors
Portuguese, Year 5 (Portugal): Build a story with a starting situation, a trigger, a development and an ending, and link it with connectors of time, cause, explanation and contrast.
The parts of a story and the words that link them
A narrative has an event, a time and a place, and an action with parts: (1) presentation: who, when, where; (2) the trigger: the event or problem that sets everything moving; (3) development: what is tried and what happens; (4) conclusion: how it ends. The parts are linked by connectors: of time (primeiro, depois, de repente, no dia seguinte, por fim), of cause (porque, pois, como), of explanation (isto é, ou seja) and of contrast (mas, porém, no entanto).
Without parts, a story becomes a list
Without parts, a narrative turns into a list: «acordei, comi, fui à escola». With an event that changes everything, the reader has a reason to go on. Connectors are the bridges: they show when (time), why (cause), what is being clarified (explanation) and what goes against what was expected (contrast). Without them the text jumps about or is full of «e depois».
Leonor and the attic
«Numa sexta-feira, na aldeia da avó, a Leonor ouviu um barulho no sótão. Subiu devagar, porque tinha medo, mas a curiosidade era maior. Primeiro, viu uma caixa; depois, ouviu um miado: era uma gatinha, isto é, uma cria de poucos dias. No fim, levou-a para casa.» (Leonor hears a noise in the attic, climbs up, finds a kitten and takes it home.) Parts: presentation (sexta-feira, aldeia), trigger (the noise), development (caixa, miado), conclusion (levou-a para casa). Connectors: time «primeiro, depois, no fim»; cause «porque»; contrast «mas»; explanation «isto é».
A list of events is not a narrative
«Acordei, tomei o pequeno-almoço, fui à escola e voltei» has facts and time, but no event that changes everything, no problem, and no ending that answers anything. When you plan, ask: what is different about this day? That is the trigger. And beware of «e depois, e depois»: swap it for a variety of connectors.
School tales, holiday accounts, scripts
You use these parts in school tales, in accounts of the holidays, in scripts for videos and games, in voice messages telling what happened, and even in jokes, which have a trigger and a punchline. Knowing the parts lets you check your own story: is there a trigger? does the ending answer it?
Test what you learned
Which part of a narrative presents the event or problem that sets the action moving?
- a) The conclusion
- b) The presentation of place and time
- c) The trigger of the action
Correct answer: c) The trigger of the action — Yes: the trigger is the event or problem that changes the situation and starts the story moving.
Complete with the right connector: «A Leonor tinha medo, ___ subiu ao sótão.» (Leonor was afraid, ___ she went up to the attic.)
- a) porque
- b) mas
- c) depois
Correct answer: b) mas — Yes: fear and going up are opposed, and «mas» is a contrast connector.
Which text is a narrative and not just a list of events?
- a) «Acordei, tomei o pequeno-almoço, fui à escola e voltei.»
- b) «Fui à escola. Depois fui ao recreio. Depois fui a casa.»
- c) «Vi que a bicicleta tinha desaparecido. Procurei-a por todo o lado e, por fim, encontrei-a no telhado: o meu irmão tinha-a escondido.»
Correct answer: c) «Vi que a bicicleta tinha desaparecido. Procurei-a por todo o lado e, por fim, encontrei-a no telhado: o meu irmão tinha-a escondido.» — Yes: there is a problem (the bike vanished), a search, and an ending that answers it.
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