Speak like a Brazilian: how to get by with the 65 most important verbs

Learning a new language is not just about memorizing new words. It is necessary to understand the cultural aspects involved and to think like a native speaker. Words are often not used the same way they are in our own native language.

Consider the sentence “I am 40 years old”. The verb “am” (to be) means “ser” or “estar“ in Portuguese. Brazilians do not say “eu sou 40 anos” or “eu estou 40 anos”. Rather, they say “Eu tenho 40 anos”, where “ter” is the verb “to have” in English. So, to think like a Brazilian, you have to say “I have 40 years old”. That is something that nobody tells you when you learn the verb “to be” or “to have”, except for in this book.