HSC Portuguese Continuers flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Pretérito perfeito of falar

Completed past tense: eu falei, tu falaste, ele/ela falou, nós falámos (Portugal) or falamos (Brazil), vós falastes, eles/elas falaram. Used for finished events in narratives.

Pretérito imperfeito of comer

Ongoing or habitual past: eu comia, tu comias, ele/ela comia, nós comíamos, vós comíeis, eles/elas comiam. It describes background, routines and states rather than single completed actions.

Futuro do subjuntivo trigger

After quando, se, assim que, logo que or enquanto referring to a future event, Portuguese uses the future subjunctive: quando eu for, se ele puder, assim que chegarmos.

Personal infinitive use

The infinitive takes a subject pronoun ending after prepositions or with a stated subject: antes de sairmos, para eles entenderem, apesar de ela não vir. It is characteristic of Portuguese.

Ser versus estar

Ser expresses identity and inherent traits (ela é médica, ele é alto); estar expresses temporary states and location (está cansada, está em casa). Choosing correctly changes meaning.

Por versus para

Por marks cause, exchange, duration and movement through (obrigado por, por duas horas); para marks purpose, destination, deadline and recipient (para estudar, para Lisboa, para ti).

Object pronoun no/na

After verb forms ending in a nasal sound (-ão, -õe, -m), o/a/os/as become no/na/nos/nas: eles põem-nos, o rapaz viu-a, as crianças viram-no.

Accent rule: proparoxytones

Words stressed on the antepenultimate syllable are always written with an accent, regardless of ending: médico, lâmpada, público, matemática, último, música.

Hearing a text twice

First listening: identify topic, speakers, setting and register. Second listening: confirm numbers, names, reasons and the speaker's final position, since texts often revise earlier statements.

Register markers tu and você

Tu with its verb form signals informality or closeness in Portugal; você is the common informal address in Brazil and more formal in Portugal. O senhor/a senhora signals deference.

Listening for reasons

Answers often require a cause or motive. Listen for porque, pois, já que, como, por isso and então, which introduce the explanation being tested rather than the bare fact.

Repair markers in speech

Speakers correct themselves with bem..., quer dizer, isto é, ou seja, or melhor dizendo. The corrected version, not the first statement, is normally the correct answer.

Telephone versus face-to-face

Alô, Estou, Quem fala? and Pois não mark telephone calls; Olá, Bom dia, Com licença and Faz favor mark face-to-face encounters. These cues identify the setting.

Time expressions in listening

Clock times use e for minutes past and menos for minutes to: duas e meia, três e um quarto, quinze para as cinco. Note that speakers often correct times mid-text.

News text structure

A notícia opens with a headline and a lead paragraph answering who, what, when and where; later paragraphs add detail, quotes and background. The main idea sits in the lead.

Fact versus opinion markers

Fact: segundo, de acordo com, os dados mostram, confirmou que. Opinion: na minha opinião, acredito que, parece-me, infelizmente, felizmente, deveria. These decide analytical items.

Purpose and consequence connectors

Purpose: para, a fim de, para que, de modo que. Consequence: por isso, portanto, assim, consequentemente. Cause: porque, devido a, por causa de, visto que.

Relative pronoun cujo

Cujo/cuja/cujos/cujas means whose and agrees with the following noun, not the possessor: o escritor cujos livros li; a cidade cuja história estudamos.

Formal letter conventions

Excelentíssimo Senhor, Venho por este meio solicitar..., Com os melhores cumprimentos. Formal letters use o senhor and avoid contractions with tu and informal closings like Beijos.

Statistics vocabulary

Reading data requires a maioria de, a minoria, metade, um terço, por cento, o dobro de, aumentou, diminuiu. Items often ask what a percentage refers to, not its value.

Referent tracking

Pronouns este/esse/aquele, o qual, cujo and ele/ela point back to earlier nouns. Match gender and number to identify the referent, which is a frequent reading question.

Narrative plot structure

A relato or story has orientation (setting and characters), complication (the problem) and resolution. Examiners reward a clear complication and a resolved ending within the word limit.

Diary entry conventions

A diário entry opens with a date (Querido diário,) uses first person and present or past tenses, expresses feelings, and closes with a personal reflection rather than a formal formula.

Personal letter openings

Informal: Querido(a) + name, Olá, Oi. Formal: Prezado(a) Senhor(a), Caro(a). Closings: Um abraço, Beijos, Até breve, Com carinho; formal: Atenciosamente, Cordialmente.

Cohesion in writing

Sequence with primeiro, depois, em seguida, então, finalmente; contrast with mas, porém, no entanto; add with além disso; conclude with portanto, por isso. Varied connectives raise marks.

Answering every prompt bullet

Each bullet in a writing prompt corresponds to required content. Omitting one, such as a reason, a plan or an opinion, loses content marks even when the language is accurate.

Direct speech punctuation

Portuguese dialogue uses travessão (dash) to introduce each speaker's line, or aspas for quotations: - Não posso ir - disse ela. Verbs like disse, perguntou, respondeu follow.

Lusophone capitals

Portugal–Lisboa, Brasil–Brasília, Angola–Luanda, Moçambique–Maputo, Cabo Verde–Praia, Guiné-Bissau–Bissau, São Tomé e Príncipe–São Tomé, Timor-Leste–Díli.

CPLP membership

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries groups the eight lusophone states; Equatorial Guinea joined in 2014, and Portuguese is an official language there alongside Spanish and French.

Brazilian versus European Portuguese

Brazil favours você with gerund (estou falando); Portugal favours tu with matching verbs and the infinitive construction (estou a falar). Vocabulary differs: ônibus/autocarro, celular/telemóvel.

Lusophone music genres

Fado in Portugal, samba and bossa nova in Brazil, morna and coladeira in Cabo Verde, kizomba and semba in Angola. Texts often use a genre to signal a country or region.

Carnation Revolution date

On 25 de Abril de 1974 the Carnation Revolution ended the Estado Novo dictatorship in Portugal, leading to decolonisation and the independence of African lusophone nations in 1975.