Habits, now and next · Portuguese grammar A1

How often: sempre, às vezes, nunca#

Formation

A habit is expressed with the present and a word of frequency: sempre (always), muitas vezes (often), às vezes (sometimes), nunca (never), todos os dias (every day), todas as semanas (every week).

Use

Sempre usually comes after the verb: O Rui chega sempre cedo. Às vezes, muitas vezes and todos os dias are usually placed at the start or at the end of the sentence. Nunca is placed before the verb and needs no não: Nunca bebo leite. When nunca comes after the verb, não is placed before it: Não bebo leite nunca.

O Rui chega sempre atrasado.Rui always arrives late.
Às vezes jantamos fora.Sometimes we eat out.
Nunca como carne.I never eat meat.
Vou ao ginásio todas as semanas.I go to the gym every week.

Difference from English

English “never” is enough on its own after the subject (“I never eat meat”); Portuguese nunca is also enough on its own, but it is placed before the verb. When nunca comes after the verb, não is placed before the verb as well, whereas an English sentence never has two negative words.

Common mistakes

~~Nunca não bebo café.~~ → Nunca bebo café.Before the verb, nunca needs no não.
~~Bebo nunca café.~~ → Nunca bebo café.Nunca is placed before the verb.

Practise

“Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, Always, never, not yet: sempre, nunca, já, ainda

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Already, still, not yet: já, ainda, ainda não#

Formation

Já means “already” or “now”, ainda “still”, ainda não “not yet” and já não “no longer, not any more”. They are placed before the verb: já está, ainda mora, ainda não sei.

Use

With these words, Portuguese often uses the present where English uses another tense: Já sei (“I know now”), Ainda não sei (“I don’t know yet”). Ainda não is also a short answer: Estás pronta? — Ainda não. Já vou! means “I’m coming!”

O Nuno já está em casa.Nuno is already at home.
Ainda moras com os teus pais?Do you still live with your parents?
Ainda não sei.I don’t know yet.
A Ana já não trabalha aqui.Ana doesn’t work here any more.

Common mistakes

~~Não ainda.~~ → Ainda não.“Not yet” is ainda não, in this order.
~~Já não estou pronto, espera!~~ → Ainda não estou pronto, espera!Já não means “no longer”; “not yet” is ainda não.

Practise

“Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, Always, never, not yet: sempre, nunca, já, ainda

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Verb and infinitive: estar a, ir, costumar, começar a, acabar de#

Formation

In these constructions, the first verb is conjugated and the second is in the infinitive. Some first verbs are followed directly by the infinitive, others by a preposition:

Construction	Meaning	Example
estar a + infinitive	to be doing, now	Estou a trabalhar.
ir + infinitive	to be going to	Vou trabalhar.
costumar + infinitive	to usually do	Costumo almoçar em casa.
começar a + infinitive	to start doing	Começo a trabalhar às nove.
acabar de + infinitive	to have just done	Acabo de chegar.
querer, poder, saber, dever + infinitive	to want to, can, must	Quero sair.
ter de + infinitive	to have to	Tenho de sair.

Estar a + infinitive. What is happening at the moment of speaking is expressed with the present of estar, a and the infinitive: estou a ler, estás a fazer, estamos a jantar. The plain present is used for a habit: Leio o jornal todos os dias, but Agora estou a ler o jornal. Estar a is never used for a plan.

Ir + infinitive. A plan or what is about to happen is expressed with the present of ir followed directly by the infinitive, with no preposition: vou trabalhar, vamos jantar, vai chover. With a word of time, the plain present is often used for the same plan, as explained in “A plan in the present: amanhã janto com a Francisca”.

Costumar + infinitive. Costumar, a regular -ar verb, expresses what someone usually does: Costumo almoçar à uma.

Começar a, acabar de. Começar a + infinitive expresses the start of an action; acabar de + infinitive, in the present, expresses an action that has just happened: Acabo de chegar (“I’ve just arrived”).

The modal verbs. Querer, poder, saber, dever and ter de are explained in “Want, can, must and an infinitive: querer, poder, saber, ter de, dever”.

Use

In the negative, não is placed before the conjugated verb: Não estou a trabalhar, Não vou sair. The infinitive never changes: vamos jantar, never vamos jantamos.

Agora não posso: estou a trabalhar.I can’t now: I’m working.
Os miúdos estão a brincar no jardim.The kids are playing in the garden.
Amanhã vou visitar a minha avó.I’m going to visit my grandmother tomorrow.
Costumamos jantar às oito.We usually have dinner at eight.
Começo a trabalhar às nove.I start work at nine.
Acabo de chegar a casa.I’ve just got home.

Difference from English

English uses be + -ing for what is going on now and for a plan (“I’m working tomorrow”); Portuguese uses estar a for now only, and the present or ir + infinitive for a plan: Amanhã trabalho or Amanhã vou trabalhar. English “going to” has a to, but no preposition comes between ir and the infinitive. English “I’ve just arrived” is in the present perfect; acabo de chegar is in the present. In Brazil, and in parts of southern Portugal, estou trabalhando is said; the usual European form is estou a trabalhar.

Common mistakes

~~Estou trabalhar.~~ → Estou a trabalhar.Estar is followed by a before the infinitive.
~~Vou a comprar pão.~~ → Vou comprar pão.Ir is followed directly by the infinitive.
~~Amanhã estou a trabalhar.~~ → Amanhã trabalho. / Amanhã vou trabalhar.Estar a is used only for what is going on now.
~~Começo de trabalhar às nove.~~ → Começo a trabalhar às nove.Começar is followed by a.
~~Costumo janto às oito.~~ → Costumo jantar às oito.After costumar, the second verb is in the infinitive.

Practise

“Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, Usually: costumar + infinitive “Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, What is going on now: estar a + infinitive “Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, Going to: ir + infinitive

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A plan in the present: amanhã janto com a Francisca#

Use

A plan that is already fixed is often expressed with the plain present and a word of time: amanhã, esta noite, no sábado, no verão. Amanhã janto com a Francisca means “I’m having dinner with Francisca tomorrow”. Ir + infinitive is also correct: Amanhã vou jantar com a Francisca. Estar a + infinitive is never used for a plan.

No sábado jogo ténis com o Rui.I’m playing tennis with Rui on Saturday.
Esta noite vamos ao cinema.We’re going to the cinema tonight.
Amanhã não trabalho.I’m not working tomorrow.
O avião chega às dez da noite.The plane arrives at ten in the evening.

Difference from English

English “I’m having dinner with Ana tomorrow” uses -ing, but Estou a jantar com a Ana means “I’m having dinner with Ana now”. The Portuguese for the plan is Amanhã janto com a Ana or Amanhã vou jantar com a Ana.

Common mistake

~~Amanhã estou a jantar com a Ana.~~ → Amanhã janto com a Ana.A plan is expressed with the present or with ir + infinitive.

Practise

“Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, A plan in the present: amanhã janto

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Saying what you like: gostar de#

Formation

Gostar (to like) is a regular -ar verb, always followed by de: gosto, gostas, gosta, gostamos, gostam. Before a noun with the article, de combines with it: gosto do Porto, gosto da Joana, gosto dos meus avós. Before a noun used in a general sense and before an infinitive, de stands alone: gosto de fruta, gosto de nadar.

Use

Gostar muito de means “to like very much”. The short answer repeats the verb: Gostas de cozinhar? — Gosto. / Não, não gosto.

Gosto de chocolate.I like chocolate.
A Marta gosta muito do Algarve.Marta likes the Algarve very much.
Gostas de cozinhar? — Gosto.Do you like cooking? — Yes, I do.
Os miúdos gostam dos avós.The kids like their grandparents.

Difference from English

English “like” takes no preposition; Portuguese gostar is always followed by de. English “like” + -ing is gostar de + infinitive: “I like swimming” is gosto de nadar.

Common mistakes

~~Gosto música.~~ → Gosto de música.Gostar is always followed by de.
~~Gosto de o filme.~~ → Gosto do filme.De and o are always combined into do.
~~Gosto nadar.~~ → Gosto de nadar.Before an infinitive, de is needed too.

Practise

“Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, Saying what you like: gostar de

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Aches and wishes: dói-me, doem-me, apetece-me#

Formation

At A1, three set forms are used. Dói-me (“… hurts”) is followed by one part of the body, doem-me by several, each with the article: dói-me a cabeça, doem-me as mãos. Apetece-me (“I feel like”) is followed by a noun or an infinitive: apetece-me um chá, apetece-me ir à praia. After não, me is placed before the verb: não me apetece.

Use

In these sentences, the subject is the part of the body or the thing wanted, and me is the person: dói-me a cabeça is, word for word, “the head hurts me”. The verb therefore agrees with the part of the body: as costas is plural, so doem-me as costas (“my back hurts”). The article is used, not the possessive, because me already shows whose head it is.

Dói-me a garganta.I have a sore throat.
Doem-me as pernas.My legs hurt.
Apetece-me um gelado.I feel like an ice cream.
Hoje não me apetece sair.I don’t feel like going out today.

Difference from English

The English sentence is “my head hurts”, with the possessive and the part of the body as the subject; the Portuguese sentence is dói-me a cabeça, with the article and me for the person. English “I feel like” has the person as the subject; in apetece-me, the person is me.

Common mistakes

~~Dói-me o meu braço.~~ → Dói-me o braço.After dói-me, the article is used, not the possessive.
~~Dói-me os olhos.~~ → Doem-me os olhos.The verb agrees with the plural os olhos.
~~Eu apeteço um café.~~ → Apetece-me um café.The person is expressed by me, not as the subject.

In short

Point	Form	Example
a habit	present + sempre, às vezes…	Às vezes jantamos fora.
never	nunca before the verb, no não	Nunca como carne.
already, not yet	já, ainda não before the verb	Ainda não sei.
now	estar a + infinitive	Estou a trabalhar.
going to	ir + infinitive	Vou trabalhar.
usually	costumar + infinitive	Costumo almoçar em casa.
start, have just	começar a, acabar de + infinitive	Acabo de chegar.
a fixed plan	present + word of time	Amanhã janto com a Ana.
likes	gostar de, do, da	Gosto do Porto.
aches	dói-me, doem-me + article	Dói-me a cabeça.
wishes	apetece-me + noun or infinitive	Apetece-me um chá.

Practise

“Habits, now and next: levanto-me, estar a, ir + infinitive, gostar de”, Aches and wishes: dói-me, apetece-me

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