English → Portuguese
be /bi:/
● vi (pres am, are, is, pt was, were, pp been);
! Portuguese has two verbs meaning be: ser and estar. As a general rule, ser is used to describe a permanent state or inherent characteristic, e.g. I’m Brazilian sou brasileiro, whereas estar is used to describe temporary states, e.g. I’m tired estou cansado.
⇢ (identity or characteristic) ser; I'm Portuguese sou português; it’s yellow é amarelo
⇢ (temporary state) estar; I'm angry/bored estou brabo/entediado
⇢ (situation) ficar; where’s the town centre? onde é que fica o centro?; it’s 10 minutes away fica a 10 minutos
⇢ (cost) ser; how much is it? quanto é?; it’s £15 são 15 libras
⇢ (feelings) estar com; I'm hungry/thirsty/sleepy estou com fome/sede/sono; I'm cold estou com frio
⇢ (health) estar; how are you? como está?; he’s ill ele está doente
⇢ (age) ter; he's twenty ele tem vinte anos
⇢ (weather) estar; it's hot/cold está calor/frio; it’s 30 degrees today hoje estão 30 graus
⇢ (become) ficar; he was disappointed ficou desapontado
● v aux
⇢ (in continuous tense) I am working estou trabalhando ,(P) estou a trabalhar ;She is leaving next week ela vai embora na próxima semana
⇢ (in passives) he was killed ele foi morto; the window has been fixed a janela foi consertada
⇢ (in tag questions) their house is lovely, isn't it? a casa deles é linda, não é?
⇢ (in short answers) are you a doctor? yes, I am é médico? sim, sou.
⇢ (with infinitive) she is to go immediately ela tem que ir imediatamente; they are to be married in August eles vão casar em agosto