Portuguese Grammar Guide

Common Anglicisms to Avoid

In this section: Description, Questions, Exercises

Description

Overview of Anglicisms to Avoid

It is perfectly natural for learners to rely sometimes on their first language when mastering a new grammatical system. As proficiency increases, however, Portuguese structures should be used instead of direct translation from English. To help avoid this, some of the most common anglicisms are presented below.

Verbs

Some expressions that use the verb “be” in English require the verb ter in Portuguese. For example:

  • I am hungry, I am thirsty, I am afraid

👉 Portuguese:

  • Tenho fome, tenho sede, tenho medo

  • NOT: Estou/sou fome

Age

  • I am 14 years old → Tenho 14 anos

  • NOT: Sou/estou 14 anos

Passive structures

English:

  • I was given a book

Portuguese:

  • ❌ Eu fui dado um livro

  • ✅ O livro foi dado a mim

  • ✅ Deram-me um livro

👉 Portuguese does not allow the indirect object to become the subject in passives.

👉 Instead:

  • active voice preferred

  • or se constructions:

    • Deu-se o livro

Pronouns

Object pronouns

  • with certain adverbs, the pronoun comes before the verb, e.g.: Eu não a quero.

Subject pronouns

Often omitted:

  • Quero aprender português

  • vs Eu quero aprender português (emphasis)

👉 Overuse sounds non-native

Adjectives

  • English: before noun

  • Portuguese: usually after

  • Comprei uns sapatos azuis

  • NOT: azuis sapatos

Prepositions

sobre

  • literal “on top of”

  • NOT general “on”

  • na televisão (NOT sobre a televisão, unless literal)

Days of the week

  • à segunda-feira / às segundas-feiras

  • NOT: em/sobre segunda-feira

👉 EP prefers contraction:

  • a + a → à

em vs a

  • em → location

    • Estive na festa

  • a → movement

    • Vou a Lisboa

de (possession)

  • O livro é do João

No preposition (common trap)

  • procurar um livro

  • NOT: procurar por um livro

  • olhar a fotografia / ver a fotografia

  • NOT: olhar para a fotografia (changes meaning)

False Friends

False friends are words that look similar in English and Portuguese but have different meanings.

False Friends with Verbs

Portuguese English mistake Portuguese meaning Instead use
assistir assist watch / attend ajudar
molestar molest bother/annoy abusar sexualmente
atender attend serve / deal with comparecer
chocar choke crash estrangular
dececionar deceive disappoint enganar/iludir
excitar excite arouse (sexually) entusiasmar
introduzir introduce (person) introduce (topic) presentar
quitar quit remove deixar/parar
realizar realize carry out perceber

False Friends with Nouns

Portuguese English mistake Portuguese meaning Instead use
deceção deception disappointment fraude/engano
pasta pasta folder massas
êxito exit success saída
idioma idiom language expressão
tábua table board mesa
areia arena sand estádio
fábrica fabric factory tecido
falta fault lack culpa
leitura lecture reading lecture
letra letter alphabet letter carta
livraria library bookstore biblioteca
notícias notice news aviso
parentes parents relatives pais
receita receipt recipe recibo
tuna tuna prickly pear palma-doce
ofício office occupation escritório

False Friends with Adjectives / Adverbs

Portuguese English mistake Portuguese meaning Instead use
atualmente actually currently de verdade
embaraçado embarrassed tangled/confused constrangido
sensível sensible sensitive sensato
educado educated polite instruído
engraçado gracious funny polido
maior mayor older/bigger presidente
Tags: anglicism avoir être peur
In this section: Description, Questions, Exercises
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