euro_portuguese_book_of_knowlege_20240831114559 Flashcards
(15 cards)
To be (perm) personal infinitive
Infinitivo Impessoal (Impersonal Infinitive): ser
Infinitivo Pessoal (Personal Infinitive):
(eu) ser
(tu) seres
(ele/ela/você) ser
(nós) sermos
(eles/elas/vocês) serem
Gerúndio (Gerund): sendo
Particípio Passado (Past Participle): sido
To be (perm, present indicative)
eu sou
tu és
ele/ela/você é
nós somos
eles/elas/vocês são
To be (perm, Pretérito Perfeito)
eu fui
tu foste
ele/ela/você foi
nós fomos
eles/elas/vocês foram
To be (perm pret. imperfeito)
eu era
tu eras
ele/ela/você era
nós éramos
eles/elas/vocês eram
To be (perm, futuro)
eu serei
tu serás
ele/ela/você será
nós seremos
eles/elas/vocês serão
To be (Perm, infinitivo pessoal)
eu serei
tu serás
ele/ela/você será
nós seremos
eles/elas/vocês serão
To be (temp, present indicative)
eu estou
tu estás
ele/ela/você está
nós estamos
eles/elas/vocês estão
To be (temp, pret. perfeito)
eu estive
tu estiveste
ele/ela/você esteve
nós estivemos
eles/elas/vocês estiveram
To be (temp, pret. imperfeito)
eu estava
tu estavas
ele/ela/você estava
nós estávamos
eles/elas/vocês estavam
To be (temp, futuro)
eu estarei
tu estarás
ele/ela/você estará
nós estaremos
eles/elas/vocês estarão
Entender
Entender
Core Meaning: This is probably the most common verb for general understanding, especially understanding the meaning of words, a language, or a simple instruction. It focuses on intellectual grasp or decoding information.
Usage: Use it when you mean you can decipher what someone is saying or what something means literally.
Examples:
“Desculpe, não entendi a pergunta.” (Sorry, I didn’t understand the question.) - Focuses on not grasping the meaning of the words.
“Você entende português?” (Do you understand Portuguese?) - Asking about language comprehension.
“Agora entendo porque é que ele fez isso.” (Now I understand why he did that.) - Indicates grasping the reason.
Perceber
Core Meaning: This often implies understanding through perception, noticing, realizing, or ‘getting’ something, sometimes suddenly or intuitively. It can relate to sensory input or picking up on subtle cues. It’s frequently used interchangeably with entender in everyday spoken Portuguese for general understanding.
Usage: Use it when you mean you’ve noticed, realized, or grasped the gist of something, perhaps not through detailed explanation but through observation or intuition. Also very common for simply meaning “to understand” in casual chat.
Examples:
“Percebi que estava a chover pela janela.” (I realized/noticed it was raining through the window.) - Understanding through observation.
“Ele falou baixo, mas eu percebi o que ele disse.” (He spoke quietly, but I understood/caught what he said.) - Implies managing to grasp it despite difficulty.
“Percebes a ideia?” (Do you get the idea?) - Very common, informal way to ask if someone understands the general point.
“Não percebi bem a piada.” (I didn’t really get/understand the joke.) - Common usage, interchangeable with “entendi” here.
Compreender
Core Meaning: This suggests a deeper, more complete, or holistic understanding. It often implies not just knowing what but also why, understanding the context, implications, or having empathy for a situation or person. It feels a bit more formal or profound than entender or perceber.
Usage: Use it when you want to emphasize a thorough grasp of a complex subject, a situation, or someone’s feelings or motivations.
Examples:
“É preciso ler o livro todo para compreender a personagem principal.” (You need to read the whole book to truly comprehend the main character.) - Implies deep understanding.
“Compreendo a sua frustração, a situação é complicada.” (I understand your frustration; the situation is complicated.) - Often implies empathy.
“O relatório explica a teoria, mas é difícil compreender todas as implicações.” (The report explains the theory, but it’s difficult to comprehend all the implications.) - Focuses on grasping complexity.
Pessoal Infinitivo
Ah, the Infinitivo Pessoal (Personal Infinitive)! This is a fascinating and somewhat unique feature of Portuguese grammar that often puzzles learners, especially those coming from English. It doesn’t really have a direct equivalent in English.
Essentially, the Personal Infinitive is an infinitive verb form (like “to eat”, “to speak”) that can be conjugated to agree with a specific subject, indicating who is performing the action, even though it remains an infinitive. The standard infinitive, which we call the Infinitivo Impessoal (Impersonal Infinitive), like falar (to speak) or comer (to eat), is invariable and doesn’t change according to the subject.
How is the Personal Infinitive Formed?
It’s formed by taking the Impersonal Infinitive and adding endings for tu, nós, and eles/elas/vocês. The forms for eu and ele/ela/você look exactly the same as the Impersonal Infinitive.
Let’s take the verb falar (to speak):
(eu) falar
(tu) falares
(ele/ela/você) falar
(nós) falarmos
(eles/elas/vocês) falarem
And comer (to eat):
(eu) comer
(tu) comeres
(ele/ela/você) comer
(nós) comermos
(eles/elas/vocês) comerem
And abrir (to open):
(eu) abrir
(tu) abrires
(ele/ela/você) abrir
(nós) abrirmos
(eles/elas/vocês) abrirem
Irregular verbs like ser, ter, ir, vir, pôr also follow this pattern, adding the endings to their infinitive form (e.g., ser, seres, ser, sermos, serem; ter, teres, ter, termos, terem).
When Do We Use the Personal Infinitive?
This is the crucial part. You generally use the Personal Infinitive when:
The Infinitive Has its Own Subject, Different from the Main Clause Subject: This is the most common trigger. If the person doing the action of the infinitive is different from the subject of the main verb, you usually need the personal infinitive to make it clear who is doing what. This often happens after prepositions or conjunctions.
Compare:
“Prometemos voltar cedo.” (We promised to return early.) - Same subject (nós), so impersonal infinitive.
“O professor pediu para nós voltarmos cedo.” (The teacher asked for us to return early.) - Different subjects (professor / nós), so personal infinitive.
Another example:
“Saí sem dizer nada.” (I left without saying anything.) - Same subject (eu).
“Saí sem eles dizerem nada.” (I left without them saying anything.) - Different subjects (eu / eles).
After Prepositions + Infinitive with a Clear Subject: Even if not explicitly stated, if the context implies a specific subject for the infinitive following a preposition, the personal infinitive is often used.
“Comprei este queijo para tu provares.” (I bought this cheese for you to try.) - Subject ‘tu’ specified.
“É melhor nós irmos embora agora.” (It’s better for us to go away now.) - Subject ‘nós’ specified.
“Apesar de ser difícil, vou tentar.” (Despite it being difficult, I will try.) - Impersonal subject ‘it’, so impersonal form (which looks like the ‘ele’ form).
“Apesar de eles serem difíceis, vou tentar.” (Despite them being difficult, I will try.) - Subject ‘eles’ specified.
Following Impersonal Expressions (like é bom, é preciso, é importante) When the Subject is Defined:
Compare:
“É importante estudar.” (It’s important to study.) - General statement, no specific subject, so impersonal infinitive.
“É importante tu estudares.” (It’s important for you to study.) - Specific subject ‘tu’, so personal infinitive.
“É preciso fazermos o trabalho hoje.” (It’s necessary for us to do the work today.) - Specific subject ‘nós’.
To Avoid Ambiguity: Sometimes, even if the subject could be the same, using the personal infinitive clarifies who is doing the action.
When Not to Use It (Use the Impersonal Infinitive Instead):
When the subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the main verb (and usually follows directly without a preposition clearly separating them).
“Queremos viajar.” (We want to travel.)
When the infinitive acts like a noun.
“Fumar é proibido.” (Smoking is forbidden.)
After auxiliary/modal verbs like poder (can), dever (should), costumar (usually), ir (going to).
“Eles podem entrar.” (They can enter.)
“Vamos comer.” (We are going to eat.)
Why is it Important?
Using the Personal Infinitive correctly makes your Portuguese much clearer and more sophisticated. While people might understand you if you make mistakes, especially in simple sentences, mastering it prevents ambiguity in more complex constructions. It shows a deeper understanding of Portuguese sentence structure. It’s definitely a hurdle, especially as English uses structures like “for them to go” or gerunds (“without them knowing”), but listening carefully to how native speakers use it and practicing will help immensely.
Don’t be discouraged; it takes time to get the hang of it. Focus on identifying who is doing the action of the infinitive – if it’s different from the main subject, especially after a preposition, you likely need the Infinitivo Pessoal!
