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A2

Grundkenntnisse

Hier kommt die Zeit dazu. Man kann erzählen, was passiert ist, und ankündigen, was man vorhat. Sätze werden länger, weil sie verbunden werden: and, but, because, when.

Der Wortschatz deckt den Alltag ab — Arbeit, Wohnen, Reisen, Gesundheit, Wetter. Ungewohntes bleibt schwierig, Vertrautes geht flüssig.

Noch ohne Familie33

The present

2

A2The stem changersOne form changes and five do not — and the temptation is to change all six.A2estar a — what is going on right nowYour -ing form is compulsory; this one is an emphasis, and using it for a habit says something odd.

The article

2

A2Where an article stands and English has none« The my car » is the ordinary way to say it here.A2In front of countries, cities and namesPortugal takes none and Brazil takes one — and the exceptions are a short list.

The noun

3

A2The words in -ãoThree plurals for one ending — and mãos and mães are not the same word.A2The diminutive that makes nothing smallerIt reaches adverbs too — and sozinho no longer means « a bit alone ».A2The owner comes last« Pedro's car » is o carro do Pedro — with an article inside the fusion.

The adjective

4

A2Where the adjective standsYour one position is the marked one here.A2ComparingEverything takes mais — except the four words you use most.A2The superlative that compares nothingOne of the two compares with somebody; the other compares with nobody.A2From adjective to adverb« Drive fast » has no counterpart here — and -mente hangs on the feminine.

The pronouns

3

A2This, that — and the third oneYou have two distances; here there are three, and the middle one belongs to the person you are talking to.A2The object pronounsIt hangs on the back with a hyphen — and the verb loses a letter to make room.A2mim, ti, comigocomigo is one word, and you cannot see the com in it.

Questions and negation

1

A2The double negativeWhere the negative word stands decides whether não is there at all.

The past

3

A2The imperfeitoFour irregular verbs in the whole tense — and it doubles as the polite « I would like ».A2Which of the twoLength is the wrong test, and « for ten years » is the sentence that proves it.A2The irregular forms of the perfeitoOne form belongs to two verbs: fui is « I was » and « I went ».

The future

1

A2The Presente for the futureEnglish splits this between two presents; Portuguese has one.

Asking and telling

3

A2The imperative for tuYour bare verb; here it is the « he speaks » form.A2The form for você and o senhorOne form for asking, telling and the instructions on a packet.A2The order with a pronoun on itTwo pronouns can fuse into one word: dá-mo.

Can, want, must

3

A2The three ways of saying « must »« Have to », « must » and « need » — the same three, cut along a different line.A2saber and conhecerAnd in the past they stop meaning know and start meaning found out and met.A2Asking politelyWhere English reaches for « would », this reaches for a past tense.

The prepositions

1

A2Verbs with a fixed preposition« I like fish » has no preposition; gosto de peixe cannot do without one.

Familiar and formal

1

A2The forms that soften the tonePoliteness is a verb form here, not a word added to the end.

Reflexive verbs

1

A2The reflexive verbs« I wash myself » is a strange thing to say; lavo-me is not.

Subordinate clauses

1

A2que and quemThe same word introduces « that he came » and « the man that came ».

What follows a verb

1

A2The bare infinitive« Can » is three different verbs here.

The finishing touches

3

A2gostar and the verbs built the other way round« I like » keeps its subject here; « I need » and « I feel like » lose theirs.A2ficarWhere the station is, and what you became — one verb for both.A2Capitals, and the marks between wordsYour quotation marks are not used here, and dialogue opens with a dash.