Contents · A2
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Words spelt alike but different in sound and meaning are told apart by a written accent: e and é, esta and está, pais and país, tem and têm, a, à and há. All these accents are kept under the 1990 spelling agreement.
Words told apart by the accent: e, é; esta, está; pais, país#
Formation
A few pairs of frequent words are spelt with the same letters and told apart by a written accent alone:
| One word | The other word |
|---|---|
| e “and” | é “is” (ser) |
| esta “this” (feminine) | está “is” (estar) |
| pais “parents” | país “country” |
| tem “has” (ele) | têm “have” (eles) |
| a “the”, “to” | à “to the” (a + a); há “there is”, “ago” (haver) |
| avó “grandmother” (open o) | avô “grandfather” (closed o) |
Use
The accent shows the stress and the sound of the vowel: é is an open, stressed vowel, e a weak one; está is stressed on the last syllable, esta on the first; país has two syllables, pa-ís, pais one. The circumflex of têm marks the plural, as in vêm (vir); in European Portuguese the two forms also differ in sound, têm being usually pronounced with its nasal diphthong said twice (“têem”) and tem with it once. À is the preposition a combined with the article a; há is a form of haver, used for “there is” and, with a length of time, for “ago” and “for”.
- O Rui é alto e a irmã é baixa.Rui is tall and his sister is short.
- Esta sopa está fria.This soup is cold.
- Os meus pais vivem noutro país.My parents live in another country.
- Os vizinhos têm um cão; a Marta tem dois gatos.The neighbours have a dog; Marta has two cats.
- Há uma farmácia ao pé da estação; vou à farmácia.There’s a chemist’s near the station; I’m going to the chemist’s.
Difference from English
English “and” and “is” are different words; in Portuguese they differ only by the accent, e and é, which is easily forgotten. English “has” and “have” differ in spelling; tem and têm differ only by the circumflex.
Common mistakes
A casa e grande.→ A casa é grande.“Is” is é, with an accent.Eles tem dois filhos.→ Eles têm dois filhos.The third person plural of ter is têm.Vou a praia.→ Vou à praia.A + a is written à.Moro aqui à dois anos.→ Moro aqui há dois anos.With a length of time, the word is há, from haver.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| “and” / “is” | e / é | O Rui é alto e magro. |
| “this” / “is” | esta / está | Esta mesa está suja. |
| parents / country | pais / país | os meus pais, um país |
| has / have | tem / têm | ele tem, eles têm |
| to / to the / there is | a / à / há | a pé, à praia, há pão |
Practise
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