MP3 Audio (Lesson) | MP3 Audio (Dialog)
Kids, they grow up so fast. And if you haven’t seen them for a while, all of a sudden they seem to have grown up. It is the most natural of conversations, asking how the family is doing. And after this lesson, you will be able to do more of that in Portuguese.
| A: | Uau João, quanto tempo não é? Tudo bem? Wow João, long time no see, right? How are you doing? | |
| B: | Tudo bem, e a família, vai bem? Just fine, and the family, are they doing well? | |
| A: | Vai, a Marina já está bem grande. They are, Marina is already really big. | |
| B: | Sei, o Marquinhos também cresceu muito. I know, Marquinhos has grown a lot too. |
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I noticed that y’all said “a Marina” and “o Marquinhos”. Is it okay to just say the person’s name with the “a” and “o” in front of it?
Hi MK, you ask a question that I have tried to figure out for years. When do Brazilian use a definite article before a name? First off, it is only used when speaking about another person, but not when talking directly to a person. So, I can’t be talking to Daniela and say, “A Daniela, would you like to go to the store…” However, when talking about another person I can say, “Hey João, looks like a Daniela wants to go to the store…” Bottom line, some people use the article and others don’t. I once thought is was formality, but it isn’t. I once thought it was regional, and it might be, but I still cant figure out which regions use it and which ones don’t.
So MK, you are now officially recruited to be a member of the search team with me! Welcome to a very elite group of language learners.
Great explanation. Thanks for explaining, Orlando. Makes a lot more sense to me now!