Olá pessoal!

Take a trip around the world as we hear the same short passage spoken first by a Brazilian, then by an Englishman, two Australians, and Irishman, and finally an American.

This video is thanks to Linny from the state of São Paulo and David Stephenson from Australia, both members of Inglês Verde e Amarelo, the community of Brazilians and native English speakers. I.V.A. is celebrating reaching the 1000-member mark last week with lots of new videos, groups and a full redesign. Check it out!

“Deal” is another word that has many different meanings in English. It is a noun, a verb, and part of several phrasal verbs as well.

In it’s simplest meaning, the word ‘deal’ means ‘contrato’ or ‘acordo,’ a business agreement such as a contract, a closed negotiation or an arrangement. The popular TV show here in the US ‘Deal or No Deal’ is clearly a good example of this use.

“I think we agree on the terms, so do we have a deal?”
“Acho que concordamos nas condições, então está tudo certo?”

In law, it is common to refer to ‘plea bargains’ as ‘deals.’

“The jury will convict you, so you should take the deal.”

“O júri vai te condenar, então acho que você deve aceitar o acordo.”

Another use of ‘deal’ as a noun is in the context of playing a card game. The act of giving everyone their playing cards is called ‘the deal.’ This leads us into the world of ‘deal’ as a verb. Giving everyone their cards is handled by the ‘dealer’ whose job it is ‘to deal the cards.’ The image of playing cards being dealt is a strong and common metaphor in our society, the ‘hand one is dealt’ indicating personal fate and destiny.

“This is a difficult time, but it is the hand that I have been dealt.”

“A situação está difícil, mas são coisas da vida.”

Check out this video where I explain a bit about this excellent metaphor.

One of my favorites is ‘to deal’ meaning ‘aguentar’ or even ‘dar jeito.’ This is perhaps a shortened version of ‘to deal with…’ something, which means the same thing.

“Do you mind picking up the kids later?”

“It’ll be tough, but I’ll deal.”

“Você pode pegar as crianças mais tarde?”

“Vai me atrapalhar, mas dou jeito.”

A slang phrase that is common is “What’s the deal?” which roughly translates to “O quê que é?” Related to that is the phrase “So the deal is…” which approximates “A parada é o seguinte…”

Also, a minor note: ‘to deal’ is the verb we use to mean ‘distribute illegal drugs.’ So a ‘traficante’ would be a ‘dealer’ in English.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Christopher - Portuguese Blog

By popular demand: the English Alphabet.

Alessandro asked me to demonstrate the correct way of pronouncing the English alphabet, and so I made this video:

Descubra outros vídeos como este em Ingles Verde Amarelo

Check it out, and practice along with me as I say the alphabet. It is harder than it may seem, and as we all know, training yourself to say the sounds of the language, or phonics, is key to developing speaking confidence and a convincing accent.

Hello everyone!

Queria destacar para vocês, sendo que são aprendizes bem ligados aos detalhes da nossa lingua inglesa, um verbo bem útil: to become.

This verb has many meanings in English which cover the use of several Portuguese verbs: chegar a ser, tornar-se, virar, ficar, and fazer-se. Let’s take a look.

When you are describing someone gaining a new position, or otherwise accomplishing an intellectual feat, ‘to become’ is used where you would use ‘chegar a ser.’ Example: After years of hard work, he finally became head of the company.

When a Portuguese speaker would describe a change of character using the verb ‘virar,’ it is acceptable to use ‘to become’ in English, though I believe ‘virar’ translates much better as ‘turn into.’ Example: My buddy doesn’t want to go out tonight… I think he’s turned into a fun-sponge. [note: 'fun-sponge' é uma giria nossa ótima, significa alguem que não gosta de curtir ou se divertir.]

For changes of state where Portuguese speakers would say ‘ficar…’ it’s usually okay to say ‘to become.’ Examples: He became really embarrassed.

How about substituting ‘tornar-se em’ in the sense of ‘becoming’ something, like a writer or musician? Again, ‘to become’ works perfectly. Example: I kept practicing and eventually became a great singer.

The last way you can use ‘become’ in English is a way of translating ‘fazer-se.’ Example: You can become rich by working hard and keeping a good attitude.

Thanks to Alessandro for setting me up to contribute to English Experts.