LC Portuguese key terms

Past tense describing a completed action or a finished period, e.g. 'ontem falei com ela'. Contrasts with tenses that present an action as ongoing or habitual in the past.

Past tense marking habitual, repeated, or background actions, or an ongoing state, e.g. 'quando era criança, brincava na rua'. Often sets the scene while the perfective tense advances the narrative.

Past tense expressing an action completed before another past action, e.g. 'já tinha saído quando chegaste'. Appears in compound form with 'ter' or in the synthetic form 'saira'.

Subjunctive form used after 'quando', 'se', 'assim que', and 'enquanto' to refer to a future or hypothetical event, e.g. 'quando chegares'. Distinct from the infinitive and from the present subjunctive.

Verb mood expressing doubt, wish, emotion, or hypothesis, typically in subordinate clauses introduced by 'que', e.g. 'espero que venhas'. Triggered by verbs of desire, emotion, doubt, and impersonal expressions.

The Portuguese infinitive that can take personal endings, e.g. 'para nós chegarmos cedo'. Common after prepositions and in purpose clauses where the subject is explicit.

A verb phrase made of an auxiliary plus a main verb in a non-finite form, e.g. 'estou a estudar' or 'vou estudar'. Carries aspect, tense, or mood through the auxiliary.

Verb form ending in '-ndo' used for progressive aspect or accompanying action, e.g. 'estava a ler' versus 'estava lendo'. European Portuguese prefers 'a + infinitive' where Brazilian Portuguese uses the gerund.

The placement of object pronouns relative to the verb: enclisis ('disse-me'), proclisis ('não me disse'), and mesoclisis ('dir-te-ei'). Rules differ sharply between European and Brazilian usage.

Placement of an unstressed object pronoun before the verb, e.g. 'não me viu' or 'ele me disse'. Obligatory after negation, certain conjunctions, and most pre-verbal adverbs in standard European Portuguese.

Placement of an unstressed object pronoun after the verb, joined by a hyphen, e.g. 'disse-me'. The default position in affirmative main clauses in European Portuguese, especially at the start of a sentence.

Complementizer introducing a subordinate clause, e.g. 'acho que ele vem'. Frequently triggers the subjunctive when the main clause expresses doubt, emotion, or will.

Conditional conjunction meaning 'if', e.g. 'se puderes, avisa'. When it refers to a future or hypothetical situation, the following verb often takes the future subjunctive.

Conjunction meaning 'while', joining two simultaneous actions, e.g. 'lia enquanto esperava'. Often pairs with the imperfect tense for background actions.

Purpose conjunction meaning 'so that', normally followed by the subjunctive, e.g. 'falo alto para que todos ouçam'. Signals an intended result rather than a factual one.

The fusion of the preposition 'a' with the feminine article 'a' or demonstrative 'aquela', written with a grave accent, e.g. 'vou à praia'. Not used before masculine nouns or most proper names.

The preposition a verb requires for its complement, e.g. 'assistir a' (to watch) versus 'assistir' (to help). Wrong regência is a common source of error in formal writing.

The preposition a noun or adjective requires for its complement, e.g. 'dependente de', 'favorável a'. Must be memorized per lexical item and often differs from English usage.

The rules governing written accents in Portuguese, marking stress, vowel quality, or syllable separation, e.g. 'pára' versus 'para' in older norms. Accent placement often signals meaning differences.

Standard spelling conventions, including the changes introduced by the 1990 orthographic agreement, such as dropping silent consonants in words like 'ação' and 'ótimo'.

The 1990 international agreement harmonizing spelling across Portuguese-speaking countries, adopted gradually; it removed some silent consonants and changed hyphenation rules.

The Brazilian norm of Portuguese, marked by gerund progressives ('estou falando'), strong proclisis in speech, and vocabulary differences from European usage, e.g. 'ônibus' for bus.

The European Portuguese norm, using 'a + infinitive' progressives ('estou a falar'), enclisis in main clauses, and vocabulary such as 'autocarro' for bus.

Second-person address forms: 'tu' takes second-person verb forms and is common in Portugal; 'você' takes third-person forms and dominates in Brazil. Mixing them within one register is an error.

Polite address using 'o senhor', 'a senhora', or titles with third-person verbs, e.g. 'O senhor pode ajudar-me?'. Required with strangers, elders, and in professional contexts.

Words that look like English words but differ in meaning, e.g. 'actual' (current, not actual), 'parentes' (relatives), and 'pretender' (to intend). A frequent trap in translation.

A word sharing origin and often form with an English word, such as 'nação/nation'. Helpful for recognition but unreliable when meanings have drifted apart.

Word-for-word rendering that preserves source structure, often producing unnatural target text. Idioms and fixed expressions usually require a functional equivalent instead.

Translating by matching the communicative effect rather than the words, e.g. rendering a Portuguese proverb with an English proverb of similar meaning. Preferred for idioms and culturally bound phrases.

A fixed multiword phrase whose meaning is not predictable from its parts, e.g. 'pôr as mãos na massa' (to get to work). Must be learned and translated as a unit.

The level of language appropriate to official, academic, or professional writing, using full verb forms, precise vocabulary, and avoided colloquialisms. Guides choices in translation and composition.

Everyday spoken style with contractions, slang, and simplified grammar, e.g. 'a gente vai' for 'nós vamos'. Recognizing it is essential for reading dialogue and informal texts.

Slang: informal vocabulary specific to a group or region, e.g. 'moleza' for something easy. Rarely appropriate in formal writing but common in dialogue and journalism.

A word or expression characteristic of a particular region, e.g. 'bergamota' in southern Brazil for tangerine. Meaning may be opaque to speakers from other areas.

Deducing an unknown word's meaning from context, morphology, and cognates. A core reading skill tested through unfamiliar vocabulary in passages.

The central claim or point of a passage, distinct from supporting details and examples. Identifying it is the basis for summary and for many comprehension questions.

Drawing a conclusion not stated explicitly, based on evidence in the text. Requires distinguishing what the author implies from what is literally written.

A linking word or phrase showing logical relations between clauses, e.g. 'portanto' (therefore), 'embora' (although), 'além disso' (moreover). Signals contrast, cause, or addition.

The way sentences are linked through pronouns, connectors, and lexical repetition to form a coherent text. Tracking referents is a frequent reading-comprehension task.