The Boiler Email to the Landlord
You rent a small flat in Braga. The gas water heater (esquentador) stopped working on Friday and you have had no hot water since. Your landlord, Sr. Almeida, asked to be told about repairs by email. A technician can come on Tuesday between 10:00 and 12:00, but you work Monday–Friday 09:00–18:00 and cannot take time off. The lease says the landlord pays for repairs to the water heater, but you are not sure he remembers this. You have never met him in person. You must write a short email of 40–60 words.
1. Write the email in Portuguese, 40–60 words. Include the problem, since when, the scheduling problem and one question.
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Model email (48 words):
«Exmo. Senhor Almeida, Escrevo porque o esquentador está avariado desde sexta-feira e não temos água quente. Não posso estar em casa na terça-feira entre as 10h e as 12h, porque trabalho. Pode marcar outra hora, por favor? E a reparação é paga pelo senhorio? Obrigada, [o seu nome]»
Why this works:
- Formal greeting and closing, because this is a written contract-related message to someone you have never met.
- One fact per sentence: problem + date, then the obstacle, then the request, then the cost question.
- «Pode marcar… por favor?» is a polite request, not an order.
- The cost question is included because the lease says he pays - you remind him without accusing him.
2. Why is «Olá Sr. Almeida! O esquentador está uma porcaria, venha cá!» unsuitable here, even though it is grammatically fine?
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Answer: It fails on register and on content.
Why:
- «Olá» plus an exclamation is for friends; to a landlord you have never met, it sounds too familiar.
- «está uma porcaria» is very informal and vague - it does not say since when or what exactly is wrong.
- «venha cá!» is an order (imperative). You cannot order your landlord to come.
- It gives no usable information: no date, no time, no question.
At A2 the examiner is checking whether you can choose the right level of politeness, not just whether the verbs are correct.
3. If you were limited to 30 words, which two pieces of information would you keep and which would you drop?
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Keep: (1) «o esquentador está avariado desde sexta-feira» and (2) «não posso na terça de manhã - outra hora?»
Drop: the mention that you have never met him, and the explanation that you work 09:00–18:00.
Why: The problem and the concrete request are what make the email useful. The rest is background. The cost question is important, but it can wait for his reply; without the problem and an alternative time, the email does nothing.