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Learn how to use the Portuguese Verb Ser to become a Brazilian Portuguese master!
In Brazilian Portuguese, we have two verbs to say that you are someone, that you are somewhere, that you are doing something, or all of these at the same time: the verb ser and the verb estar. Through this post, you are going to learn the Brazilian Portuguese verb ser and how to use it correctly.
The verb ser talks about a permanent state, for example, when you say you are Brazilian. You were born in Brazil and you cannot change that fact, it is permanent. Meanwhile, the verb estar indicates momentaneous states and actions, like when you are reading a book, for instance. It is an action you are doing momentaneously and you can stop it whenever you want.
Verb to be in Portuguese
Ser is an irregular verb and means “to be something” or “to be someone”. In other words, this verb talks about a permanent state, like your name or your nationality. You can also use it to talk about characteristics of your personality, as when we say “you are so funny”, in Brazilian Portuguese, we would say “Você é tão engraçado”. But how come ser became é? Let’s see how to the conjugation goes to understand it better!
| PORTUGUÊS | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| Eu sou | I am |
| Você é | You are (singular) |
| Ele/Ela é | He/She is |
| Nós somos | We are |
| Vocês são | You are (plural) |
| Eles/Elas são | They are |
Because the verb is used to indicate permanent states, after the subject and the verb, you have to add a noun. For example, if you want to say that you are Brazilian, in Brazilian Portuguese, you use the structure subject + verb + noun and say “Eu sou brasileiro” if you are a man, or “Eu sou brasileira”, if you are a woman, or even “Eu sou Groot”, to say you are Groot in Brazilian Portuguese!
| PORTUGUÊS | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| Eu sou brasileiro(a) | I am Brazilian |
| Você é brasileiro(a) | You are Brazilian (singular) |
| Ele/Ela é brasileiro(a) | He/She is Brazilian |
| Nós somos brasileiros(as) | We are Brazilian |
| Vocês são brasileiros(as) | You are Brazilian (plural) |
| Eles/Elas são brasileiros(as) | They are Brazilian |
Let’s see some examples for you to better understand the structure explained above about the Brazilian Portuguese verb ser.
To help you talk about your nationality and your occupation in Brazilian Portuguese, we made a list with countries, nationalities, and professions, so you can try to make phrases with the verb ser. You can check all these vocabulary lists on our Instagram profile! Don’t forget to study them and practice the pronunciation! Now, let’s see some example phrases.
Examples – how to use the Portuguese Verb Ser
1. Eu sou brasileiro.
I am Brazilian.
2. Você é americano.
You are American.
3. Ela é mexicana.
She is Mexican.
4. Nós somos argentinos.
We are Argentinian.
5. Vocês são ingleses.
You are English.
6. Eles são australianos.
They are Australian.
Gender of Words & Singular and Plural
By reading and listening to the examples above, you may have noticed that Brazilian Portuguese nouns differ depending on the gender of the subject, and on the number of people we are talking about. To better understand the gender of words and the differences between singular and plural nouns, check our post about it by clicking here!
But just to help you out, basically, words ending with -a are feminine while words ending with -o are masculine. Also, the words that have a -s at the end are plural (although there are some exceptions).
How did you like this explanation about the Brazilian Portuguese verb ser? Let us know if it helped you in the comments below. And don’t forget to check out our TikTok account and our Instagram profile for more content about the Brazilian Portuguese verb ser, countries, nationalities, vocabulary, and more! ????
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