Gostámos; visitámos; e Lisboa

Portuguese Questions Grammar
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I would like to get some clarification on the following, if possible:

  1. What is the difference between “gostamos” and “gostámos”?
  2. What is the difference between “visitamos” and “visitámos”?
  3. What is the correct way to write “Lisbon”: “Lisboa” or “Lisbôa” (I think I’ve seen this last one)?

Thanks very much! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi @David2019,

My understanding is:

  • Gostamos and visitamos are the present tense (presente do indicativo)
    We like, we visit

  • Gostámos and visitámos are the past tense (pretérito perfeito do indicativo)
    We liked, we visited

  • Regarding Lisboa/Lisbôa, I’ve noticed on the Internet that Lisbôa seems to be a surname, but I’ve never seen that spelling referring to the city. Maybe it’s an antiquated way of spelling it? I, too, would be interested to find out more on this :grinning:

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Thanks, @Jeremy! That’s what I thought, regarding the verbs. I don’t recall where I’ve seen the “Lisbôa,” com o chapéuzinho, so it must not be used for the city!

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You’re welcome, @David2019. :grinning:

In case you’ve not stumbled across it, https://conjuga-me.net/ is very useful for verb conjugations and tenses.

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@Jeremy nailed it with the verbs! Also, the spelling for the city is definitely Lisboa and has been for a very long time.

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@Jeremy nailed it with the verbs!

But @Joseph, doesn’t the new “Acordo” remove those accents from the pretérito forms?

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What the Acordo did was to legitimize both spellings of the pretérito/past tense, depending on how people pronounce them. In Portugal, we have a distinct pronunciation for present and past tense forms, so for us, the accent has to stay, as a visual representation of that difference. In Brazil, for the most part, there is no sound difference and the accent is absent.

The whole Acordo thing is tricky, because it was intended for the Portuguese language as a whole, irrespective of country borders, so it contemplates lots of possibilities. Of course, it’s then up to each country to ratify and enforce it. Portugal, as the country pushing for it the most, is leading the way…

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Thanks very much for the clarification, @Joseph! Indeed, the impetus for my question regarding the two verbs did come from my Brazilian spouse, who wasn’t sure why the accents were there! This answered it, and it’s great to see Portugal “…leading the way”! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yes and no, hah. It’s been the source of many heated debates in the country. They only died down lately because we’re sort of past the point of no return. I myself don’t really see why this Acordo was necessary and how it’s doing its supposed job of creating a common ortography for all Portuguese-speaking countries when not all countries have implemented it, and when the Acordo itself has so many ambiguities, lots of words with double spellings, etc. But this is a whole other discussion, I guess!

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Hi, @Joseph! This is an interesting topic, for sure, and maybe someone knowledgable about this (like yourself) will create it! My comment about it being “great” to see Portugal leading the way stems from my complete ignorance of the subject. I will have to read more about it. But, thanks, again, for your great support and information! :slightly_smiling_face:

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