A brief grammar of the Portuguese language

PREFACE — FOOTNOTES:

CONTENTS

THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE — FOOTNOTES:

I. SOUNDS AND ACCENTS — ALPHABET — PRONUNCIATION — Sounds of the Vowels — DIALECTICAL — ACCENT MARKS — TONE ACCENT — List of Words having the Accent on the Penult — List of Words having the Accent on the Antepenult — QUANTITY — SYLLABICATION — CAPITAL LETTERS — ORTHOGRAPHY — List of Common Syncretic Forms — FOOTNOTES:

1. The Portuguese alphabet is the same as the English except that it contains no w.

Following are the Portuguese names of the letters together with their approximate pronunciations.

Note.—The letter w is only used in the foreign words in which it occurs. It is called dobleú, very much as in English.

2. Vowels.—For the most part the vowels are pronounced separately, so that each one forms a syllable. The only exceptions to this rule are the nasal diphthongs.

The sounds of the vowels are characterized as long, short, open, close, and nasal.

The a-sounds differ in quantity rather than quality.

u is silent when preceded by q and followed by e or i: aqui (pr. akee).

y is pronounced ee as if it were i long; it is nasal when followed by m, as tympano. Y is much used in Brazil in words of Tupy origin, as Ivahy, Apody.

3. Diphthongs.—It is customary to regard as pure diphthongs such vowel combinations as ae in pae, ai in vai, au in pau, ei in lei, eo in deo, eu in breu, oe in heroe, iu in viu, oi in boi, ui in fui. It is to be noted, however, that these combinations are pronounced, not as single sounds, but as if the letters were sounded separately yet with a slight abbreviation from the full values of the separate vowels.

The true diphthongs are known in Portuguese as the nasal diphthongs. These are ãe as in mãe, ão as in mão, õe as in põe, ũi as in muito. (Muito, however, is a unique case.)

4. Nasal Sounds.—There are nasal sounds for most of the vowels. These are indicated either by the nasal diphthongs or by the single vowels followed by m or n, as tão or tam, bem, sim, bom, um. These words are pronounced as if they ended with an English ng in which the g is not heard. Tão is pronounced nearly as if written towng with the ng sound omitted or cut short. Bem is pronounced as if written beng, but without the g being sounded; um as if written oong but omitting the g sound.

All syllables ending in em, en, im, in, õ, om, on, um, and un have the nasal sound whether at the end of a word or followed by a consonant.

5. Consonants.—The consonants not mentioned here are pronounced as in English.

b is silent in subdito, subject (pronounced as if written súdito), and in subjeitar, an old form of sujeitar.

ç with the cedilla (cedílha) is soft as in French. The cedilla is used to soften the sound of c before a, o, and u: calças (pr. as if written cálsas).

c is silent when followed by t or c: activo (pr. as if written ativo), acção (pr. as ação). Except convicto, pacto, fricção, convicção.

ch has the sound of sh in she: chá (pr. as if written shah); before consonants and in words of Greek origin it has the sound of k: Christo (pr. as Krísto).

g is hard before a, o, and u in all cases; before e, i, and y it has the sound of the French j: gelo (pr. as if written hjelo).

When g would ordinarily precede e or i, u is added before those vowels in order to give or preserve the hard sound: entregar, to deliver, has entregue for the past participle, thus preserving the hard g sound.

g when followed by n is silent: in the words signal (as if sinal) and signalar and words beginning with assign: as assignar, assignatura.

h has no sound of its own in Portuguese; it is not a letter, properly speaking, but an etymological mark or sign. It has a value, however, in connection with c, l, n, and p, which see.

j is pronounced as in French, like g in midge.

lh is pronounced like lli in million. In writing and printing these two letters belong to the syllable whose vowel follows and must be kept together. The syllables of cordilheira are cor-di-lhei-ra; of filha they are fi-lha.

m at the end of a word or syllable is nasal. Bem is pronounced as if spelled beng, but without the final g-sound; bemdito (pr. bengdeeto, but with the g silent).

In some words the m is apparently silent on account of the nasal sound: damno (pr. as if written dánno).

n never ends a word in Portuguese except irman, sister, iman, magnet, hyphen, colon, and certain antiquated forms like christan for christã;⁠[10] when it precedes final s it is nasal.

nh is sounded like ni in union, that is like the Spanish ñ, the Italian gn, or the French gn: banho, bath, lenha, fire-wood. In syllabication these two letters, when so pronounced, always belong with the vowel that follows them: lenha is divided le-nha.

There are a few words, however, which are compounded of the prefix an or in, in which the nh is not so pronounced or written: such as anhydro, inhabil, inhalar, inhibir, inhumano.

p is silent before t: prompto (pr. as if spelled prónto); escripto (pr. as if written escríto). Except that the p is pronounced in captar, raptar, optar, repto, and mentecapto. In exempção also the p is silent (pr. izenssão).

ph is pronounced like f: photographia (pr. as if spelled fotografía).

q is always followed by u, and always has the sound of k. Qu varies somewhat: before a and o the u is sounded, as quando (pr. kwándo); but before e and i the u is used with the q only for the purpose of producing or preserving the k sound and is therefore not heard: quer (pr. ker); aqui (pr. akee).

Exceptions: the u is sounded in consequencia, frequente, equestre, antiquíssimo. It is also allowable to sound the u in questão.

r has two sounds: when it begins a word, or is double, it is rolled as in French or Spanish: río, érro; in other positions it is pronounced by striking the tongue lightly against the roof of the mouth almost as if pronouncing the letter d: arara (pr. nearly as if spelled adada but with the d approaching the English r-sound). Except: that the single r is rolled after l, m, n, s: honrar, tenro, genro, Henrique, melro, chilrar.

s has the soft or hissing s-sound, and that of soft z. It has the z-sound when it stands between vowels: rosa, casa (pr. as if spelled róza, cáza). Except in cases of compound words where it has the s-sound.

It has the soft s-sound in most other cases.

th has the sound of t: theoria is pronounced as if written teoria.

w is used only in foreign words and should be pronounced as in the language from which those words are taken.

x has several sounds as follows:

1. like the English ks in words ending in ex, ix, and ux, fixar and its compounds and derivatives, flexão and related words such as flexibilidade and sexo, fluxo, maximo, and lexicologia (index and appendix are pronounced índes and appéndes in addition).

Note.—There are, however, some local differences in the pronunciation of some of these words: flexão properly pronounced fleksão, in Bahia is pronounced flechão.

2. like s when followed by c, t, or p: extenso, excepto (pr. as if esténso, escépto).

3. like z when preceded by e and followed by a vowel or by h and a vowel: exemplo (pr. ezémplo); exercito (pr. ezército); exhausto (pr. ezausto).

4. It is like ss or ç in trouxe, anxiedade, syntaxe, defluxo.

5. At the beginning of words, and in places other than those mentioned above, it is pronounced like the English sh; most cases fall under this rule: xarope (pr. as if sharópe); exministro (pr. as if written eijminístro); baixo (pr. báisho); lixo (pr. leesho).

6. In certain parts of Portugal one hears many pronunciations that are purely dialectical. In Minho for example the people generally say binho instead of vinho, wine, and sordado instead of soldado, soldier. In Traz-os-Montes they say tchapeo for chapeo, hat, tchave for chave, key, djente for gente, folks; the caipiras or backwoodsmen of the state of São Paulo in Brazil have a similar pronunciation which was probably introduced from Portugal.⁠[11] See the example quoted in the exercise at page 166.

In Portugal as a rule the quantity of the short syllables is perceptibly shorter than in Brazil. Sobrado, perigo, and pessoa are so pronounced in full in the latter country, while in Portugal they are commonly pronounced s’brado, p’rigo, and p’ssoa. The d is pronounced in Brazil nearly as it is in the English language, but in Portugal it frequently has a strong resemblance to the English th in these, so that desde in Portugal sounds very like thézthy, and dedo, like dáytho, the th being soft like that in though.

7. Slang.—Like other languages Portuguese has its slang words or expressions; such words and expressions are called calão, gíria, or geringónça. Some of them are not Portuguese but simply fantastic expressions; for the most part, however, they are the ordinary words of the language used in some figurative or special sense. For example, estar na bagagem literally means to be in the baggage, but it is a slang expression used in regard to a person who is behindhand, or who is a slow coach. Mandachuva, one who orders the rain, is slang equivalent to the American expression political boss.⁠[12]⁠

8. The cedilla is used with c to show that that letter has the soft c sound.

The tilde (~) is used to show that the vowel over which it is placed is a nasal. It is only used over a and o.

The acute accent (´) and the circumflex (^) are used:

1. To show the position of the tonic accent, especially in homonyms where there is a chance of mistaking one word for another, as esta, this, and está, it is; séria, serious, and sería, would be.

2. To indicate contractions: em relação á (for a a) idéa, with regard to the idea.

Note.—The omission of the accent sometimes entirely changes the meaning of a sentence; for example, matar a sede means to quench one’s thirst, while matar á sede means to kill with thirst. In the second sentence the á is a contraction of the preposition a, by or with, and the article a, the.

3. To indicate what are called open (´) and close (^) sounds of the vowels e and o: café, mercê, paletó, avô.

(See Exercise III, page 121)

9. Tone accent is a matter of so much importance in Portuguese that it is often quite impossible to understand the spoken language when the accents are improperly placed. Take as an illustration the word sabia: the accent may make it sábia, a learned woman, sabía, I knew or he knew, or sabiá, the Brazilian robin.

This kind of a case is not exceptional. In speaking the language, therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the accent be properly placed.

The tone accent always falls on one of the last three syllables. There is an apparent exception to this rule in the enclitic monosyllables which are joined to certain other words, as digo-lhe, I tell you; gosta-lo, to like it. In these instances the addition of this enclitic does not change the position of the accent even when it falls on the syllable preceding the antepenult. Example: fála-se-lhes.

a. There are no short and compact rules for guidance in the placing of the tone accent, and to almost every rule formulated there are many exceptions. The greatest number of words have it on the penult; fewest have it on the antepenult. The following suggestions may be found useful. For the accents of verbs see the models at § 107, pages 72-75.

b. The following words take the accent on the final syllable:

1. Those ending in the nasal diphthongs:

ão,⁠[13] except bénção, frángão, órfão, and órgão;

ãos;

ães;

ões.

2. Words ending in

i, except álcali, espermacéti, quási;

l, except words of Latin origin ending in ilis, as dócil, fácil, hábil, útil, and those ending in vel: amável, agradável, crível, nível;

im;

r, except assúcar, cadáver, cáncer, carácter, éther, júnior, mártyr, néctar, súlphur, and a few foreign words like repórter and revólver;

u, except tríbu;

y, except júry, tílbury;

z.

c. The following have the accent on the penult:

1. Erudite forms from the Greek ending in ia: as democracía, geología, philosophía, autopsía,⁠[14] etc. Except the following which take it on the antepenult: comédia, polícia, encyclopédia, geodésia, estratégia, necrománcia, pharmácia.

2. Words ending as follows:⁠[15]⁠

d. The following take the accent on the antepenult:

1. Masculine nouns from the Greek such as astrónomo, geólogo, philósopho.

2. Absolute superlatives in -imo: illustríssimo, óptimo.

3. Words ending as in the following:

e. There is a natural tendency in Portuguese to avoid placing the accent as far back as the antepenult; so much so that words thus accented are called esdrúxulos, a word of Italian origin (sdrúcciolo, slippery) which is used figuratively in Portuguese to mean odd, strange, extravagant. The esdrúxulos are few in number and are nearly all erudite forms.

10. The tonic or accented vowels are always long; the atonic or unaccented ones are generally short: útil, agradável.⁠[16]⁠

(See Exercise IV, page 123)

11. In syllabication,

a. Diphthongs cannot be separated.

b. Monosyllables cannot be divided.

c. The consonant combinations lh, nh, rh, and ph cannot be separated from each other or from the following vowels with which they form syllables: ma-nhã, ba-ta-lha, phi-lo-so-phí-a.

d. A consonant between vowels belongs with the second one: na-ríz, bár-ba-ro.

e. G and q followed by u remain with the vowel that follows: guin-das-te, qual-quer.

f. Double consonants are separated: bel-lo, af-fli-cto.

g. Mute letters, c in ch, t in th, g in gn, t in ct, t in pt, go with the following vowel: ar-chi-tec-tu-ra, pan-the-is-mo, si-gnal, fru-cto, ca-pti-vo, ex-em-pto.

h. In nasal syllables m and n generally belong with the preceding vowel: bem-di-to, man-so, dan-sar.

i. But when m is followed by n both of these letters belong with the following vowel: so-mno, da-mno.

j. Compound words are divided according to their elements: sub-stan-ti-vo.

12. The rules for capitals are the same in general as in English; except that adjectives derived from proper names and eu, I, are not written with capitals save for some other reason such as at the beginning of a sentence: francez, French; inglez, English. This rule is not invariable, however, and one sees the proper adjectives sometimes with the capital and sometimes without. The use of the capital in such cases is regarded by some authors as more strictly the Portuguese custom.

In addressing persons as Senhor, Senhora, Vossa Senhoria, Vossa Santidade, etc., it is the custom to begin these words with capitals. But capitals are not used when a person is referred to without the name, as o sr. engenheiro tomou conta da estrada.

13. Portuguese orthography is remarkably phonetic, and after a little practise one can usually spell correctly words heard for the first time. The etymology of the words, however, is not lost sight of, though some writers adhere more closely to the etymology while others tend toward phonetic simplification.

The only exceptions to the phonetic writing of vowel sounds are:

1. That unaccented o is generally pronounced like u short, as bonito (pr. as if bonítu).

2. Unaccented e is often pronounced like i short, as doce (pr. as if dóci).

a. The following will serve as examples of words spelled in different ways. For present purposes either spelling may be regarded as correct.

There are also many antiquated forms found in old books such as:

b. It is to be expected that the spelling of the present day should differ considerably from that of the sixteenth century, but aside from these differences one finds certain variations (called syncretic forms) that often puzzle the beginner. These come chiefly from the equivalence of the diphthongs ou and oi. The following is a list of the most common syncretic forms. Either form is allowable.

c. On the whole the tendency is toward the phonetic spelling, a tendency that has lately received much fresh impulse. These variations, however, are not to be regarded as license to spell words in any way.⁠[17]⁠

II. ARTICLES — DEFINITE ARTICLE — Use of the Definite Article with Prepositions — INDEFINITE ARTICLE — FOOTNOTES:

(See Exercise V, page 125)

14. The definite article has gender and number to agree with its noun.

The Spanish form of the definite article is used in two instances: El-Rei, the King, and Eldorado.

15. Contractions.—The articles combine with certain prepositions as follows:

a. a, to, combines with the different forms of the article making ao, á, aos and ás, to the.

b. de, of, combines with them forming do, da, dos, and das, of the.

c. em, in, combines with them to form no, na, nos, and nas, in the (instead of em o, em a, etc.).

d. per, by, combines with them forming pelo, pela, pelos, and pelas, by the. Polo and pola are antiquated forms.

16. Syntax of the Definite Article.—The definite article is used as a determinative: o menino, the boy; o bom, the good.

It is used before certain proper geographical names, especially those of rivers, mountains, seas, etc.: a França, France; o Téjo, the Tagus; o Andes, the Andes; o Atlantico, the Atlantic.

In Brazil this rule is not universally followed. The names of the states of Parahyba and Bahia are used with the feminine article, while the article is not generally used with the names of the states of Pernambuco, Alagôas, Sergipe, São Paulo, Santa Catherina, Minas Geraes, and Mato Grosso.

It is used familiarly before the names of persons: onde está o João? where is John?; o Guimarães chegou, Guimarães has come.

It is used before pronouns and possessive adjectives: o meu chapeo, my hat; a tua vontade, thy will. In this case the article may be omitted in familiar style. It is also omitted in speaking of one’s kin, as meu pai, my father, not o meu pai, unless emphasis is required, when it is used.

It is inserted before nouns used in a general sense where in general, all, every may be understood: o ouro é mais precioso que a prata, gold is more precious than silver.

It is used to indicate time and season: ás duas horas, at two o’clock; no inverno, in winter.

It is used before nouns of weight and measure: dois milreis o kilo, o metro, two milreis a kilo, a meter.

It is used before the names of languages: estudando o portuguez, studying Portuguese; entendo o francez, I understand French.

It is used after verbs denoting possession: estou com as mãos sujas, my hands are soiled; tem os olhos pretos, he (or she) has black eyes.

It is used after todo in both numbers: todo o homem é mortal or todos os homens são mortaes, all men are mortal.

It is used before certain titles: O Senhor Costa, O Coronel Sampaio.

It is omitted before the titles Sua Majestade, His Majesty; Vossa Alteza, Your Highness; Vossa Senhoria.

It is omitted before numerals used as titles: Carlos quinto, Charles the fifth.

It is omitted with appositional nouns: é filho do Coronel, he is the son of the colonel.

(For demonstrative pronouns having the same forms as the definite articles see § 65c. and § 87.)

(See Exercise VI, page 126)

17. The indefinite article has gender and number to agree with its noun.

18. Contractions.—The indefinite article combines with em in forming num, numa, nuns, and numas (in place of em um, etc.).

It also combines with de, of, forming dum, though this is generally written d’um.

The old form of the indefinite article was hum, huma, etc. The indefinite article has a negative form nenhum, none, which still retains the h that one often sees in the old forms.

a. Syntax of the Indefinite Article.—The indefinite article always precedes its noun or its substantive adjective, as uma pessoa, a person; um desconhecido, an unknown person.

b. The indefinite article is omitted:

1. Before predicative nouns denoting what a person is: seu amigo é general, his friend is a general; elle assentou praça, he enlisted.

2. After verbs of possession or denoting condition: estou com fome, I am hungry; tenho bom apetite, I have a good appetite.

3. After various indefinites, outro, tal, certo, tanto, semelhante, etc.: tal dia, tal noite, such a day, such a night; foi sem dizer palavra, he went without saying a word.

4. After an exclamatory que: que bella noite, what a fine night.

III. NOUNS — INFLECTION — PLURAL FORMATION — GENDER OF NOUNS — QUALIFYING SUFFIXES — Examples — Augmentatives — Diminutives — FOOTNOTES:

IV. ADJECTIVES — PLURAL — FEMININE — COMPARISON — Table of Comparison — IRREGULAR COMPARISONS — AUGMENTATIVE AND DIMINUTIVE ADJECTIVES — SYNTAX OF NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES — FOOTNOTES:

(See Exercise XII, page 132)

39. The adjectives have gender, number, and degree of comparison.

a. They agree in gender and number with their nouns; mulher sensata, a sensible woman, homens velhos, old men.

b. When mesmo and proprio are used in connection with a pronoun they must agree with the noun so represented. Eu mesmo or eu mesma according as the speaker is masculine or feminine.

c. When there is more than one noun, the adjective usually agrees with the last one: desejos e virtudes puras, pure aims and (pure) virtues.

d. When the nouns have different numbers the adjective is generally plural: os soldados e o seu chefe cheios de coragem, the soldiers and their leader, full of courage.

e. There may be a plural noun with singular adjectives expressing parts as, as grammaticas portugueza, franceza e ingleza.

40. Adjectives form their plurals like nouns: bonito, handsome (f. bonita), pl. bonitos (f. bonitas); facil, easy, pl. faceis. (For the various plural endings see § 20.)

41. Adjectives have the feminine in a, or remain unchanged according to the following rules:

a. Adjectives with the masculine ending in o change that vowel to a: bello, fine, f. bella.

b. Adjectives ending in ão either drop the o: as são, f. sã, or change the ão to ona as chorão, chorona; sabichão, sabichona; valentão, valentona.

c. Adjectives ending in r (except particular, singular, and comparatives which are unchanged) add a: encantador, charming, f. encantadora.

d. Proper adjectives ending in z and l add a: francez, f. franceza, French; hespanhol, f. hespanhola, Spanish.

e. Those ending in eu change to ea: hebreu, f. hebrea, Hebrew (but judeu becomes judia and sandeu becomes sandia). Those ending in u add a: cru, f. crua; nu, f. nua.

f. Other adjectives have the same form in both genders: facil, m. f., easy; feliz, m. f., happy; azul, m. f., blue; melhor, m. f., better; cortez, m. f., courteous; prudente, m. f., prudent; ruim, m. f., bad.

g. The following, however, are irregular:

(See Exercise XIII, page 133)

42. The regular comparative adjectives are formed by placing mais, more, or menos, less, before the positive: escuro, dark, mais escuro, darker, or menos escuro, less dark.

43. The relative superlative is formed by placing the definite article before the comparative form: o mais escuro, the darkest.

44. The absolute superlative is derived directly from the Latin and has the termination imo. The precise formation varies according to the termination of the positive from which it is derived:

I. When the positive ends in al, il, r, or u, add issimo: natural, naturalissimo; habil, habilissimo; singular, singularissimo; cru, cruissimo.

II. When the positive ends in vel, that ending becomes bilissimo: notavel, notabilissimo.

III. When the positive ends in om or um, the m is changed to n before the final issimo: bom, bonissimo; commum, communissimo.

IV. When the positive ends in ão, that termination becomes anissimo: são, sanissimo; but christão, christianissimo.

V. When the positive ends in az, iz, oz, the final z is changed to c before the issimo: audaz, audacissimo; feliz, felicissimo; veloz, velocissimo.

VI. When the positive ends in e or o these terminations change to issimo: excellente, excellentissimo; alto, altissimo.

a. Positives ending in co and go change those letters to qu and gu before issimo in order to retain the hard sounds: rico, riquissimo; vago, vaguissimo.

b. The following are exceptional absolute superlative forms derived from Latin roots:

c. In colloquial Portuguese certain superlative forms are used to strengthen an expression or statement, as mesmissima cousa, precisely the same thing. (See § 93.) One even hears such expressions as coisissima nenhuma, not the slightest thing, though, strictly speaking, a noun does not admit of such comparison. Portuguesissimo is sometimes used to mean very thoroughly Portuguese.⁠[27]⁠

d. The absolute superlative may also be expressed by the use of various adverbs, mui or muito, very, bastante, quite, or summamente, exceedingly.

e. The relative superlative takes de, of: o mais valente de todos, the bravest of all.

f. Comparatives of superiority or inferiority take que, de que and do que, than: mais bello do que a rosa, more beautiful than the rose. Certain other comparatives take de: ha mais de vinte annos, menos de uma legua, more than twenty years ago, less than a league.

g. The forms maior, greater, menor, smaller, peior, worse, melhor, better, are followed by que: maior que a serra, bigger than the mountain; but the forms superior, inferior, interior, and exterior take a, to, instead of que: elle é inferior a seu irmão, he is inferior to his brother.

45. Several irregular adjectives derive their comparative and their absolute superlative forms directly from the Latin, but the relative superlative is formed in the usual way by placing o, the, before the comparative.

46. Augmentative and diminutive adjectives are formed like augmentative and diminutive nouns: novo, new, novinho, quite new. (For rules, see § 35, 36.) The adjectives, like the nouns, are often used as terms of endearment. Bonitinho from bonito, pretty, is often used to mean quite pretty, very pretty, or pretty little dear.

47. In general the noun precedes the adjective: homem trabalhador, a working man.

48. This order may be inverted: mau signal or signal mau, a bad sign. This inversion, however, is not arbitrary, but is determined by emphasis, the rule for which cannot be fully stated but must be acquired by observation and practise.

49. In general the adjective precedes when it denotes a quality which necessarily belongs to the noun, and when the adjective and noun might almost be regarded as a compound word.

50. The adjective follows when it denotes a quality to which especial attention is directed; but when the attention is to be directed to the noun, and the adjective is of minor importance, the adjective precedes the noun.

51. The following cases illustrate the difference in meaning due to the position of the adjective:

a. In the cases cited the expressions are readily translatable, but in many instances the distinctions do not admit of such brief definitions. In the following cases the English translation given is inadequate and explanations are required that cannot be given briefly:

altos ceos and ceos altos, high heavens;
santos padres and padres santos, holy fathers;
primeira causa and causa primeira, first cause;
longos dias and dias longos, long days.

52. In certain cases inversions are not allowed. In the following instances, for example, the words must be in the order given as if they were compounds:

Deus padre, God the father;
estrella fixa, a fixed star;
mão direita, the right hand;
deputado federal, federal deputy (congressman);
Illustrissimo Senhor, Most illustrious Mr. ——;
codigo civíl, the civil code.

53. The words pouco, little, and muito, many, much, when used as adjectives usually precede their nouns: poucas cousas, a few things; ha poucos dias, a few days ago; muito barulho, much noise.

54. The adjectives hungry, thirsty, sleepy, and cold, are expressed by the use of estar com and the nouns meaning hunger, etc.: estou com fome, sede, somno, frio, I am hungry, thirsty, sleepy, cold.

V. NUMERALS — 55. THE CARDINALS — THE ORDINALS — 61. THE FRACTIONS — 62. MULTIPLICATION — 63. NUMERAL SUBSTANTIVES — 64. IDIOMS — FOOTNOTES:

VI. PRONOUNS — PERSONALS — Reflexive Personal Pronouns — POSSESSIVES — DEMONSTRATIVES — DETERMINATIVES — INTERROGATIVES — RELATIVES — INDEFINITE — FOOTNOTES:

(See Exercise XV, page 135)

65. There are the usual three personal pronouns, but in Portuguese the third person is generally used in place of the second in direct address, with the exceptions noted below. Strictly speaking there is no declension in Portuguese; the personal pronouns, however, retain, in all persons, so many traces of their Latin declensions that they have the appearance of being declined, and are so given by some grammarians. The objective forms vary according as they are used with or without prepositions.

a. Lhe, lhes, to him, to her, to it, to them are always indirect or dative forms.

b. O, a, lo, la, os, as, los, and las are always direct objective or accusative forms.

c. Those used with prepositions admit of any preposition, except that when the preposition is com, with, the forms migo, tigo, nosco, vosco, and sigo only are used, as commigo, with me, comtigo, with thee, etc.

d. Elle, ella, etc., with the preposition de, of, are contracted to delle, della, etc.; with em, in, they are contracted to nelle, nella, etc.

66. Use of the Third Person.—In address, the third person is commonly used except to close friends, relatives, children, and domestics when tu may be employed. Persons may be addressed, according to circumstances, as Vossa Excellencia, Your Excellency, Vossa Senhoria, Your lordship, Vossa mercê, Your mercy, your grace, Você, a common abbreviation of Vossa mercê, but one to be used only in cases of extreme familiarity, or as Senhor, Mr., and Senhora, madam, or Mrs.

a. Until one becomes familiar with the use of these terms the safest rule is to use Senhor and Senhora.

b. In writing, these words are abbreviated as indicated at § 147.

c. Ordinarily eu, I, is not used as in English, but is sometimes placed before or even after the verb for the sake of emphasis or clearness. The same is true of tu, thou, elle, he, ella, she, nos, we. Para ti sonhava eu sonhos de gloria, for thee I dreamed dreams of glory.

d. Vos, you, is only used in very formal discourses, and as a vocative in prayers, etc. It is not used colloquially as in English. (See § 66.) Tu, thou, is also used as a vocative.

67. Reflexive.—The reflexive forms of the personal pronouns are:

Third Person

68. Duplication.—Duplication is common in classic Portuguese. By its use attention is redirected to an idea. Que me importa a mim a gloria? In what does glory concern me? or what is glory to me? Aconteceu-me a mim, it happened to ME.

Such expressions do not admit of literal translations into English.

69. Syntax of the Personal Pronouns.⁠[33]⁠—The personal pronouns are used both as direct and indirect objects:

Direct: elle me reprehendeu, he reprehended me.

Indirect: elle me deu o livro, he gave me the book.

70. The same thing occurs with the other pronouns, except that in the third person the indirect object is expressed by lhe, while the direct is o, a, os, and as.

Direct: reprehendeu-o, he reprehended him.

Indirect: deu-lhe o livro, he gave him (or her) the book.

71. The direct object is used after transitive verbs, the indirect after intransitives: vi-o, I saw him, obedeci-lhe, I obeyed him (or her).

72. The pronouns me, te, se, lhe, nos, vos, and o are called proclitic, mesoclitic, or enclitic according as they precede, are inserted within, or follow the verb.

a. They precede the verb (are proclitic):

1. In negative sentences: não me fale; não o creio.

2. In phrases depending upon que, o qual, quem, cujo: quem o chamou; a mulher que se ama.

3. In certain popular expressions: Deus me livre; o diabo te leve.

4. When used with the conjunctions que, porque, and pois que, the rule has many exceptions.

b. They are inserted in the verb between the stem and termination (are mesoclitic) in the future indicative and conditional: dir-lhe-ei, I will tell him, instead of direi-lhe; dir-se-ia, instead of diria-se, it would be said.

c. They always follow the verb (are enclitic) at the beginning of a phrase: resta-me agradecer-lhe; diga-me; faça-me o favor.

d. In the mesoclitics and enclitics the pronoun is separated from the verb by a hyphen or hyphens.

e. The enclitics do not affect the position of the accents of the verbs.

73. When two pronouns come before a verb, the subject precedes: mandou que tu lhe entregasse o livro, he directed that you should give him the book.

74. Se and si refer to the subject: Pedro falou de si, Pedro spoke of himself. Você quer tudo para si, you want everything for yourself. Leve a espingarda comsigo, take the gun with you. (For the use of the reflexive pronoun with verbs see § 126.)

75. Comparison.—After terms of comparison the nominative pronoun is used: mais serio que eu, more serious than I.

(See Exercise XVI, page 136)

76. The possessive pronouns are inflected like adjectives and agree in gender and number with the object possessed. They all take a in the feminine and s in the plural.

Possessive Pronouns

77. Inasmuch as the third person is used in direct address, seu, sua, seus, and suas are generally used in place of vosso, etc., for your and yours: a casa é sua, the house is yours.

78. Possession is also expressed by the use of a preposition as a casa é d’elle, the house is his; a casa é d’elles, the house is theirs.

79. The place of the possessive is before the noun as in English: meu cavallo, my horse.

80. In certain cases the possessive placed after the noun is equivalent to the personal pronoun with de: noticias tuas (de ti), news of (about) you. Important distinctions of this kind are illustrated by the example: saudades tuas means saudades for you, while tuas saudades means the saudades you have for some one else.

81. Possessives are not used with parts of the body as in English: cortou-me o braço, he cut my arm, is used instead of cortou meu braço. In some cases the possessives are omitted as in English, as: venho de casa is used instead of venho de minha casa, I come from home; vou para casa, I am going home.

82. At the same time the bold use of the possessive is occasionally emphatic: estou na minha casa, I am in my own house; deixa-me com a minha dôr, leave me with my grief.

83. The possessive seu, sua, seus, suas, his, her or your, is used also idiomatically and colloquially to express uncertain value or quantity: tem seus vinte annos, he (or she) is about twenty years old.

The possessives may be replaced by various forms of the personal pronouns, and sometimes such expressions are considered more elegant.

(For the use of the article before possessives see § 16.)

(See Exercise XVII, page 137)

84. The demonstrative pronouns may be used either with or without their nouns. When used with them they precede the nouns, agreeing with them in gender and number.

85. Isso, isto, and aquillo are neutral forms of the demonstratives used to refer to a preceding idea, expression, or subject, and may be regarded as equivalents of essa cousa or essas cousas, esta cousa, aquella cousa. They have neither feminine nor plural forms, nor are they used to refer to persons or animals.

86. The difference between este and esse in their various forms is that the first is used to refer to that which is near the speaker, while the second refers to that which is near the person addressed.

87. The forms o, a, os, as, are identical with the definite articles in forms, sounds, and origins. They are used as the equivalents of aquelle, aquella, aquelles, aquellas when followed by a determining expression: a provincia de Minho é a que tem mais vegetação entre as de Portugal. Literally, the province of Minho is that which has most vegetation among those of Portugal.

88. When these forms are preceded by the preposition a they combine with it forming ao, aos, á, and ás as do the definite articles. Preceded by em they similarly form no, na, nos, nas, and preceded by per they form pelo, pela, pelos, and pelas.

89. The determinatives have gender and number except tal which has no gender distinction:

Outrem is an invariable form meaning outra pessoa or outras pessoas.

90. The demonstrative pronouns este, esse, aquelle, etc., with outro form est’outro, ess’outro, aquell’outro with the corresponding feminine and plural forms.

91. Um e outro (literally one and other), means both.

92. Mesmo means same and self as here illustrated: a mesma cousa, the same thing; o mesmo homem, the same man. It is used in connection with the personal pronouns to mean self: eu mesmo, I myself, ella mesma, she herself; elles mesmos, they themselves, etc.

It is also used in such expressions as é mesmo, that is true, it is just so.

93. Mesmissimo is an augmentative form of mesmo meaning precisely or exactly the same; é a mesmissima cousa, it is precisely the same thing.

Um tal means such a one. Que tal? how is this? what do you think of this? Tal qual means just so. É tal qual, it is just so, it is just as you say; não ha tal, it is not true, it is no such thing; não ha tal lugar, there is no such place.

94. Fulano de tal is a name used for any fictitious person; it is often equivalent to the English John Doe or to Mr. What’s-his-name. Fuão, Beltrano, and Sicrano are similarly used.

(See Exercise XVIII, page 138)

95. The interrogatives are:

It is not considered elegant nowadays to begin an interrogation with o que. Que tem? what have you? (Not o que tem?)

(See Exercise XIX, page 139)

96. Of the relative pronouns quem refers to persons only; the other forms refer to either persons or things. They are

97. O que, o qual, a qual, os quaes, and as quaes, literally, the which, mean what or that. These latter forms are used when the antecedent needs to be made clear or prominent. A gloria de Deus a qual não se póde escurecer, the glory of God which cannot, etc. O livro que está lendo, the book you are reading; but o livro da bibliotheca o qual está lendo, the book of the library (the) which you are reading.

98. Where quem would follow sem, o qual is used instead for the sake of euphony: sem o qual não deve, without which you should not.

99. Cujo is equivalent to do qual, and is followed immediately by the object possessed: O soldado cujo cavallo foi morto, the soldier whose horse was killed.

a. Cujo without antecedent and the object possessed is a classic but archaic form of expression: cujo é esta casa? whose house is this? Instead one would now say: de quem é esta casa? Literally, of whom is this house?

(See Exercise XX, page 140)

100. The indefinite pronouns may be classified as nouns or adjectives.

a. The nouns are:

al (invariable), something else, the rest. (But little used.)
alguem (invariable), some one
algo, something, anything
nada (invariable), nothing
nenhum (f. nenhuma, pl. nenhuns), neither
ninguem (invariable), no one
qualquer, pl. quaes-quer, either, whichever
quemquer, anybody
tudo (invariable), all
uns, f. umas, some

b. Algo when used as a pronoun refers to things and means alguma cousa. It is sometimes used as an adverb meaning algum tanto: elle está algo doente, he is somewhat ill.

c. Tudo is a neutral form of todo. When followed by que it requires the definite article: tudo o que elle disse.

d. Nenhum may be used with an affirmative sense, and is equivalent to qualquer in the expression mais que nenhum, more than any one.

e. A negative is strengthened by doubling the negation: não sei nada, I know nothing; não diz nada, he says nothing.

f. The adjectives are:

algum (f. alguma, pl. alguns, algumas), some, no
cada (um, uma); cada qual (sing. only), each, every
certo (f. certa, pl. certos, -as), certain
muito (f. -a, pl. muitos, -as), many
outro (f. outra, pl. outros, -as), other
pouco (f. -a, pl. poucos, -as), few, little
*quanto (f. -a, pl. quantos, -as), how much, how many, as much as
*tanto (f. -a, pl. tantos, -as), so much
todo (f. -a, pl. todos, -as), all, every

g. *Quanto is used in correlation with tanto to mean as much as. Faço tanto quanto qualquer outro, I do as much as any one else. Quanto pagou? how much did you pay? Quantas vezes foi la? how often did you go there? Quanto antes, as soon as possible.

h. Todo with the article means the whole; without the article it means every; toda cidade, every city; toda a cidade, all of the city. It is sometimes used as an adverb but retains its gender for the sake of euphony: ella está toda molhada.

i. Em quanto means while. Espera em quanto eu tiro uma vista, wait while I take a view.

j. Cada qual and cada um have approximately the same meaning. Cada qual stands next to the verb, however, cada um does not: cada um dos soldados andava or cada qual andava, each (of the soldiers) walked.

101. When a proposition has a negative sense either algum may be placed after, or nenhum before the noun:

The first sentence is more emphatic than the second.

102. Certain idiomatic expressions have meanings analogous to those of the indefinite pronouns:

a. De and de que are often used in the sense of something; tenho de que comer e de beber, I have something to eat and to drink.

b. The expression não ha de que used in reply to obrigado, muito obrigado, etc., is equivalent to the English not at all or the French pas de quoi.

VII. VERBS — CONJUGATIONS — GENERAL TERMINATIONS OF THE REGULAR VERBS — Indicative Mood — Subjunctive Mood — Imperative Mood — Infinitive — Participles — MODEL VERBS — Indicative — Subjunctive — Imperative — Infinitive — Participles — OBSERVATIONS ON THE REGULAR VERBS — AUXILIARY VERBS — Conjugation of the Auxiliary Verbs — IRREGULAR VERBS — Reference List of the Irregular Parts of Irregular Verbs — VARIABLE PARTICIPLES OF REGULAR VERBS — FIRST CONJUGATION — 116. SECOND CONJUGATION⁠ [53] ⁠ — 117. THIRD CONJUGATION — DEFECTIVE VERBS — THE SUBJECTS OF VERBS — OBJECTS OF VERBS — SPECIAL USES OF VERBS — PERIPHRASTIC VERB PHRASES — REFLEXIVE VERBS — IMPERATIVE AND SUBJUNCTIVE — THE SUBJUNCTIVE AND THE INDICATIVE — PERSONAL INFINITIVE — FOOTNOTES: