Indeed - as a native English speaker - it’s hard for me to ‘just see this’ - more practice needed.
Also, I’ve really been working the preterite vs imperfect & when to use which. Not easy… I may post my notes in another topic for others to comment/correct.
[Secção 9]
De manhã, Estevão consultava o telemóvel. Era o número do Ucrânia de novo.
(In the morning, Steven consulted the phone. It was the Ukranian number again)
– Alguém discava o número errado – disse Estevão.
(Some dialed a wrong number, said Steven)
Apôs de duas semanas, Estevão recibia um e-mail sobre de um colega de trabalho, chama-se Pitor.
(After two weeks, Steven received an email about a work colleague, named Pitor)
O Pitor foi morto. O e-mail foi sem detalhes por que a família de Pitor tinham pedir privacidade.
(Pitor was dead. The e-mail was without details because Pitor’s family had requested privacy)
1 Like
Now with corrections 
1 Like
Again - many thanks. Here my confusion was around preterit vs imperfect. I thought that the imperfect was to be used when describing a narrative. Also, the use of tinha vs tinham - I thought that since I was describing the family, it would be the vocês form, not você. I guess family is singular, not plural.
[Secção 10]
Mais tarde, Estevão falava com uma colega Stefan…
(Later, Steven was speaking with a colleague - Stefan)
— Pobre Pitor — disse Stefan
(Poor Pitor - said Stefan)
— Sim, claro — respondou Estevão — Sabes o que tinha acontecido-lhe?
(Yes, indeed - responded Steven - Do you know what happened to him?)
— Ouvi a polícia descobriu corpo dele na Lago Stevens. Tinha afogado.
(I heard the police discovered his body in Lake Stevens. He had drowned).
Estevão fechava os olhos dele. Ele não queria imaginar isso visão.
(Steven closed his eyes. He didn’t want to imagine that vision)
It’s hard to explain and even harder to learn how to choose between imperfect and simple past. When you’re describing a sequence of events or actions set in the past in a straightforward way, the simple past is the usual choice.
- João entrou e fechou a porta. (John walked in and closed the door.)
For an indirect narration of character thoughts, if the character is 1) thinking about something that already occurred, the simple past or the past perfect are likely to be used. If the character is 2) thinking about something happening at that moment, the imperfect is preferred.
-
João viu uma grande desordem em casa. Quem fez/tinha feito aquilo? (João saw a big mess at home. Who did/had done that?) - First case
-
Entretanto, alguém bateu à porta. Quem estava ali? (Meanwhile, someone knocked at the door. Who was there?) - Second case
If the thoughts are expressed in the first person, the above doesn’t apply.
To indicate a location or describe the current state/condition of someone or something (physically, emotionally, etc.), the imperfect is also a better option, especially if “pushed” by verbs such as estar.
- Os móveis estavam fora do lugar e o chão estava sujo. João ficou chocado. (The furniture was out of place and the floor was dirty. John was shocked.)
To indicate habitual past actions/events, the imperfect is also the tense of choice.
- João arrumava sempre tudo e trancava a porta depois de sair da sua casa. (João always cleaned everything up and locked the door after leaving his house.)
^ These are just some examples. Feel free to ask about specific situations that I may have missed! Also, as you guessed, família (family) has a plural sense, but it’s a singular noun, so we treat it as such
(I’ll check out the new section later)
1 Like
[secção 11 - este dia tem muito calor no EUA - escreveu 3 paginas por causa minha casa tem ar condicionado… abaixo é a próxima secção…]
Estevão escreveu um e-mail que oferendou-se condolêcas a familia de Pitor. Quando estava acabado, ele voltou no trabalho e esqueceu-se.
(Steven wrote an email offering his condolences to Pitor’s family. When he finished, he returned to work and forgot about it)
1 Like
These are fun to follow. I get quite a lot of what you write, but still not enough to follow on my own without the translation… At least you keep your sentences relatively short, and I appreciate that.
1 Like
With the heat this past week, I went to the library to relish the AC and pounded out 3 pages more. To be posted piece-meal, of course. Glad it’s helping you ('cause it’s really helping me…)
1 Like
Section 10:
Section 11:
Obrigado de novo.
Just making sure it is still OK to continue to post these. I don’t want to burden anyone (@Joseph) with the corrections. I have another three pages written, that I can continue to post.
If this is helping people, I’m happy to continue, but if it’s not helping, or causing too much work for others, please let me know.
1 Like
You’re welcome, @stephencanthony. Don’t worry about me, in terms of workload. Whether it’s helping other people or not, depends on who’s following. Let’s see if anyone else has something to say.
2 Likes
Actually, I enjoy these very much. The sentences are too difficult for me to write on my own. but I understand much of what is written. With the translation, I eliminate those times when I am not sure or even totally confused. Not only is this helpful, but very much appreciated. It is the closest thing to actually having a teacher to interact with. I would personally like to see more of this. Thanks to both Stephen and Joseph.
1 Like
The people have spoken! Many thanks for the kind words. I’ll continue posting anon…
1 Like
[ Secção 12 - é maior do que as otras - com liçensa @Joseph]
O dia seguinte, Estevão era falar com o João. (the next day, Steven was speaking with John)
— Interessante — disse João ( Interesting, said John)
— Porquê? ( – Why?)
— O teu numero do telemóvel é quase idêntico dele ( Your phone number is almost the same as his)
— Dele? Quem? ( Him? Who?)
— Pitor, claro! ( Peter, of course!)
— Por que razão isso é importante? — perguntou Estevão ( Why is that important? – asked Steven)
— Por causa dos teus números errados da noite. ( Because of your wrong numbers in the night)
— E acha-te tentem a telefonar o Pitor? E as messagens foi dele? ( And you think they tried to call Pitor? And the messages were for him?)
— Como tu conheceu-lhe? – perguntou John. ( Did you know him? asked John)
— Apenas pequeno. Ele não estava falador. – disse Estevão ( Only a little. He wasn’t a great talker – said Steven)
— Os numeros da Sistema UTM… para este zona… que fica-se alí? (The numbers of the UTM System - for this zone - what would you find there?)
— Um posto de transformação.( A transformer station)
— É verdade? - perguntou João ( Is that true? – asked John)
— Sim, exactamente.-- declarou Estevão ( Yes - exactly – stated Steven)
— Talvez o Pitor tinha uma vida outra. E ajudou-o às Ucrânias com os atos illegal. ( Maybe Peter had another life. And was helping Ukranians with illegal acts)
— Atos illegal? Isso é uma brincadeira! Não é posivel, pois? Pitor? – disse Estvão com incredulidade.
( Illegal Acts? That’s a joke! It’s not possible, is it? Peter? - said Steven with incredulity)
— Não sei, mas é uma explicação para os eventos.( I don’t know, but it’s an explanation for the events)
— Certo, mas……(Sure, but…)
O esse momento, ouviram às sirenas e às luzes desligaram.
(At that moment, they heard the sirens and the lights turned off)
1 Like
Wow, that IS your biggest to date. I am glad you offered the translations to help me along. I appreciate this a lot.
1 Like
[ Secção 13]
Houve uma explosão ao posto de transformação.
(There had been an explosion at a transformer station)
Os bombeiros chegaram ao posto e començavam extinto o incêndio.
(The firefighters arrived at the station and started to put out the fire)
Mas meia da cidade foi sem electricidade.
(But half the city was without electricity)
Nem luzes, nem televisão, nem outras.
(No lights, no television, nor others)
E também, não frigorificos. Às refreçeiões tinha començado a estragar.
(And also, no refrigerators. The food had started to spoil)
A melhor problema foi pânicao da gente.
(The biggest problem was people panicing).
1 Like
Sorry, this slipped my mind, @stephencanthony! Here are my corrections:
Section 12:
Aaand section 13:
1 Like
Muito obrigado, de novo. Ser e estar são minha problema E pronomes, e…
2 Likes
De nada! Estás a escrever uma história ambiciosa, é normal que haja falhas.
1 Like