MP3 Audio (Lesson) | MP3 Audio (Dialog)
Maybe it’s something you ate. Maybe you just ate too much. Or maybe you’ve caught some flu bug. Either way, you aren’t feeling very well, and chances are that you are going to throw up. And on that happy note, in today’s lesson we learn to talk about all of this in Portuguese!
Thank you for the lesson. So the verb sentir is reflexive right? Could you say that sentence but without the reflexive part (me, se, nos) and it would mean the same thing?
Hey David, you have noticed something really common about Brazilian Portuguese, that is, they do not always use the reflexive pronouns. So, for example, in a grammar book you learn to say, “senta-se” (sit down), but Brazilians are just as likely to just say, “senta.” It’s just not always a big deal for them.
The verb “sentir” is a little different. Sometimes “sentir” is used with a direct object (I feel the table and it is hard). Notice that in this case you physically touch a table. “What do you feel? I feel the table.” In that case, in Portuguese, you would simply have “eu sinto a mesa” and there is never any reflexive pronoun. However, sometimes “sentir” doesn’t have a direct object (I feel sad). Notice that in this sentence there is no noun that functions as a direct object. “How do you feel? I feel sad.” In this case in Portuguese you can use the reflexive pronoun, “eu me sinto triste.” This is the grammar book answer.
However, and here’s the hard part, even in cases like “eu me sinto triste” Brazilians sometimes drop the reflexive pronoun. It’s just not a big deal for them.
I was thinking once that in English we kind of do the same thing when we say things like, “sit down, sit yourself down, sit on down.”
Hi Orlando,
I have heard Brazilians say “Ela botou tudo para fora” to describe someone throwing up. I speak Portuguese (married a Brazilian) but I am using this very helpful podcast to improve my grammar.
Thank you!
Perfect example Madhuri, thanks for sharing.