BicaUnit 14 of 16A25 lessons · 37 words
Work and study in European Portuguese
Trabalho e estudos
Talk about your job and your studies, and describe how things used to be. This is an A2 unit of the Bica course, in the Portuguese spoken in Portugal: below are all its words, example sentences you can listen to, and the grammar notes.
Words and phrases
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
o trabalho | workAlso the place where you work: Vou para o trabalho. = I'm going to work. |
o emprego | jobA paid position: procurar emprego = to look for a job. |
a empresa | company |
o escritório | office |
o colegaalso a colega | colleague |
o chefealso a chefe | bossThe same word for a man or a woman: o chefe, a chefe. |
a reunião | meetingPlural: as reuniões. |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a tempo inteiro | full-time |
a tempo parcial | part-time |
o salário | salaryIn everyday speech you will also hear o ordenado. |
o horário | working hoursO horário de trabalho = working hours. |
o contrato | contract |
ganhar | to earnAlso "to win": ganhar o jogo. |
estar de folga | to have the day offUm dia de folga = a day off. |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
procurar emprego | to look for a jobVery common: Estou à procura de emprego. = I'm looking for a job. |
desempregadoalso desempregada | unemployedUse estar: Estou desempregado. |
a entrevista | interviewUma entrevista de emprego = a job interview. |
o currículoalso o CV | CV |
a experiência | experience |
a profissão | profession |
o anúncio | advert |
agora | now |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a escola | school |
a universidade | university |
o exame | exam |
passar no exame | to pass the exam |
chumbar | to failEveryday word for failing an exam or a school year: Eu chumbei no exame. |
a aula | class |
o curso | courseTirar um curso = to take a course, or to do a degree. |
era | I/he/she was (used to be, describing the past)The imperfect of ser: era, eras, era, éramos, eram. |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a criança | childAlways feminine, even for a boy: O Rui é uma criança. |
tinha | I had (used to have)The imperfect of ter: tinha, tinhas, tinha, tínhamos, tinham. |
morava | I lived-ar verbs: morava, moravas, morava, morávamos, moravam. |
ia | I used to goThe imperfect of ir: ia, ias, ia, íamos, iam. |
antigamente | in the old days |
brincar | to playHow children play. For games and sport, use jogar. |
havia | there wasThe past of há: Havia um café nesta rua. |
Example sentences
- Eu trabalho num escritório.I work in an office.Num = em + um.
- A minha chefe é muito simpática.My boss is very nice.
- Tu gostas do teu trabalho?Do you like your job?
- Eu trabalho a tempo inteiro.I work full-time.
- A Catarina trabalha a tempo parcial.Catarina works part-time.
- Qual é o teu horário de trabalho?What are your working hours?
- Eu estou à procura de emprego.I'm looking for a job.Estar à procura de = to be looking for.
- O meu marido está desempregado.My husband is unemployed.Being out of work is a situation, so Portuguese uses estar.
- Eu tenho uma entrevista de emprego amanhã.I have a job interview tomorrow.
- A Sofia estuda na universidade.Sofia studies at university.
- Eu tenho um exame amanhã.I have an exam tomorrow.
- Tu passaste no exame?Did you pass the exam?Passar no exame = to pass the exam. Passaste = you passed.
- Quando eu era criança, morava no Porto.When I was a child, I lived in Porto.Era and morava are in the imperfect: they describe how things were.
- Antigamente não havia telemóveis.In the old days there were no mobile phones.Havia is the past of há: there was, there were.
- Eu ia à escola a pé.I used to walk to school.Ia = I used to go. Costumar also means "to usually do": costumava ir.
Every lesson page has all of its sentences: At work · Hours and pay · Looking for work · School and university · When I was a child
Unit notes
The imperfect: how things used to be
The imperfect (pretérito imperfeito) describes the past as a background: habits, situations and descriptions. English often says "used to" or "was …ing".
Regular -ar verbs take -ava: morava, moravas, morava, morávamos, moravam. Regular -er and -ir verbs take -ia: comia, comias, comia, comíamos, comiam. The nós form always has an accent.
Learn these by heart: ser → era, ter → tinha, vir → vinha, ir → ia. And há becomes havia: "there was, there were".
- Quando eu era criança, morava no Porto.When I was a child, I lived in Porto.
- Nós brincávamos na rua.We used to play in the street.
- Antigamente não havia telemóveis.In the old days there were no mobile phones.
Imperfect or perfect?
Use the perfect (fui, trabalhei, comi) for a finished event: something that happened once, or at a specific time. Use the imperfect (ia, trabalhava, comia) for habits and for describing how things were.
They often meet in the same sentence: the imperfect sets the scene, the perfect says what happened. Eu morava em Lisboa quando conheci a Ana.
Queria is the imperfect of querer. It means "I wanted", and it is also the polite way to ask for something today: Eu queria um café, se faz favor.
- Ontem fui ao médico.Yesterday I went to the doctor.
- Eu ia ao médico todos os meses.I used to go to the doctor every month.
- Eu morava em Lisboa quando conheci a Ana.I was living in Lisbon when I met Ana.
Trabalho, emprego and a tempo inteiro
O trabalho is work in general, and also your workplace: Eu vou para o trabalho. O emprego is a job, a position: procurar emprego, estar desempregado.
You work a tempo inteiro (full-time) or a tempo parcial (part-time). A day off is um dia de folga: Amanhã estou de folga.
Most job titles have a feminine form: o engenheiro, a engenheira; o enfermeiro, a enfermeira. Some words are the same for both: o colega, a colega; o chefe, a chefe.
- Eu trabalho a tempo inteiro.I work full-time.
- Eu estou à procura de emprego.I'm looking for a job.
School and university in Portugal
Children go to a escola. After secondary school, many students go to a universidade to tirar um curso (do a degree). University tuition fees are called as propinas.
You hope to passar no exame (pass the exam). In everyday Portuguese, to fail is chumbar: Eu chumbei no exame. Chumbar is also used when a pupil has to repeat a school year.
To talk about your student days, use the imperfect: Quando eu era estudante, estudava muito.
- Eu passei no exame!I passed the exam!
- O meu irmão chumbou no exame.My brother failed the exam.