MP3 Audio (Lesson) | MP3 Audio (Dialog)
We have been looking forward to this for years. The Olympics are coming to Brazil and now we have to decide if we are going to attend the events live. After today’s lesson, you should be more excited than ever to attend.
| A: | Você vai assistir a cerimônia de abertura? Are you going to watch the opening ceremonies? | |
| B: | Claro, adoro ver o momento quando todos os atletas entram no estádio. Of course, I love to see the moment when all of the athletes enter the stadium. | |
| A: | Eu acho legal ver quando entram com a chama da tocha olímpica. I think it’s cool when they enter with the flame of the Olympic torch. | |
| B: | Você acompanhou a rota do revezamento da tocha? Have you followed the route as the exchanged torches? | |
| A: | Acompanhei, até assisti em Santos quando os condutores passaram. I have, I was even in Santos when the torch bearers passed by. |
Could we have used “seguir” instead of acompanhar? I didn’t know about acompanhar before this lesson. I think in English we would say “did you follow route” rather than “did you accompany the route.” Just wondering, thank you.
Don’t you just love those little insights! Part of the joy of learning another language is when we make new associations, or expand our vocabulary options. Seguir, coupled with acompanhar is a nice example of adding to our total mix. That little nuance where “acompanhar” gives off an added impression of a journey together. Thanks for the insight, I had never thought of this difference before.
If you did use “seguir,” would it have more the literal meaning of actually walking or running behind the torch itself? Or can you still use it like the way you’d use “acompanhar,” that is, “follow along with the action” as a fan or other interested observer — and you don’t have to be present at the event itself?
I’m thinking also of the use of “acompanhar” in other situations, for example, “Jorge acompanha o mercado de ações” — “Jorge follows the stock market.” Could you also say “Jorge segue o mercado de ações”?
I love it when people think of angels that I have never thought of. Here are talking about the difference between to follow and to accompany. My sense is that both can be used interchangeably (in both English and Portuguese) with the technical difference that accompany (acompanhar) carries the extra nuance of ‘to join’ that is not found with follow (seguir). Thanks for giving me something new to think about!