A short walk through a quiet street lets you see European Portuguese demonstratives at work. Este marks what is close to the speaker, esse what is close to the listener, and aquele what sits further away, and this text puts all three to use as the narrator moves from the bakery to the square to an old tree.
What you’ll learn
- when to use este, esse and aquele
- the contractions neste, nessa and naquela
- describing a street and a neighbourhood
Texto
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De manhã eu saio de casa cedo.In the morning I leave home early. Moro nesta rua pequena e tranquila.I live on this small, quiet street. Nesta rua há uma padaria e um café.On this street there is a bakery and a café. Eu passo pela padaria todos os dias e compro pão.I pass the bakery every day and buy bread.
Hoje encontrei um amigo no café.Today I met a friend at the café. Sentamo-nos nesta mesa perto da janela.We sat at this table near the window. Desta mesa vemos a praça.From this table we can see the square. Nessa praça há crianças e um cão que corre atrás da bola.In that square there are children and a dog running after the ball.
O meu amigo falou-me de um livro que lê todas as noites.My friend told me about a book he reads every night. Ele diz que gosta muito dessa história.He says he likes that story very much. Eu olho para aquela árvore grande naquela praça.I look over at that big tree in that square. Debaixo daquela árvore está um homem com um jornal.Under that tree there is a man with a newspaper.
Eu e o meu amigo costumamos passear devagar pela rua.My friend and I usually stroll slowly along the street. Neste momento a cidade está calma, mas naquela esquina já há muito movimento.Right now the city is calm, but on that corner over there it's already busy. Eu gosto deste bairro e também gosto destas pequenas rotinas do dia.I like this neighbourhood and I also like these little routines of the day.
Vocabulário
Key words from this text. Hide a column to test yourself.
- nesta (em + esta)
- in this, on this (close to the speaker)
- nessa (em + essa)
- in that, on that (close to the listener)
- naquela (em + aquela)
- in that, on that (further away)
- a rua
- the street
- a praça
- the square
- a padaria
- the bakery
- o bairro
- the neighbourhood
- a esquina
- the corner
- passear
- to stroll, to walk unhurriedly
- costumar
- to usually do something, to be in the habit of
Perguntas
Answer out loud in Portuguese, then check.
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