I’ve been stalled in my textbook for quite a while. It’s quite hard to get through because the exercises are so samey. For example, at the moment I am working through a section in which you have to fill in blanks with verb/preposition combos. The section is 58 pages long with about 20 per page so I era thousand questions of the same type. This would be OK if they gave examples or pointers to teach you something before you embark on the exercise, but it really expects you to go and find the answers from some other source (in my case, the Guia Prático de Verbos com Preposições, which I definitely recommend even if I don’t recommend the textbook!)
It’s pretty exhausting and doesn’t make me feel motivated at all. I think I probably need to switch because ploughing through this isn’t yielding results.
Anyway, let’s have a go – I’m just going to straight up do my homework on here and mark it in real time.
- Chegamos no Porto, de manhã, fomos do comboio das sete e regressamos ao fim da tarde ✖️ Vamos ao/Vamos no = We are going to Porto. In the morning, we’re going by train at 7.0p and return at the end of the afternoon. This is a bad fail. The tenses are all wrong, even. I think if I’d gone back and checked this one I’d have spotted it but I didn’t.
- A cor das cortinas dá-se com as tonalidades usadas na decoração da sala ✖️ dá com =The colour of the curtains matches the tones used in the decoration of the room. I guessed “dar-se com”, which usually means “to get in with” would also mean match, but “dar com” is the right answer. It has a few different meanings but “condizer com” (to match) is one.
- O autocarro 31 vai para a cidade universitária? ✖️ Passa pela = Bus number 31 goes through the University town?
- O Pedro deu-se pela janela do comboio para admirar a paisagem. ✖️ Chegou-se à = Pedro went close to the train window to admire the countryside.
- A Maria andava completamente obcecada por uma colega: lançou-se em si, constantemente, a pensar nele e não conseguia concentrar-se no trabalho. ✖️ Dava por =Maria was completely obsessed with a colleague: she was aware of him at all times, thinking about him and she couldn’t concentrate on work.
- Emagrecia de dia para dia: os médicos passaram a pensar que fosse cancro. ✖️ Chegaram a = she was getting thinner day by day: the doctors had reached the point of thinking it was cancer.
- A mãe quando o viu partir, de tão comovida, pôs-se a chorar. ✔️ Good lord, I’m on question (g) and this is my first right answer???
- Como a Laura quase nunca sorri, muitas vezes passa por antipática. ✔️
- Depois de muitos desgostos e desilusões, a Marta, deprimida, deu em alcoólica ✔️
- Todas as cenas do filme não passaram dum manicómio ✖️ se passam num = All the scenes take place in a madhouse. This is a really good example of me getting it wrong because I got the wrong idea about what they were trying to say. I thought it was a bad film and every scene was like a madhouse.
Oh god, I’m so lost…
- Esse aparelho tão esquisito dá para quê? ✔️
- Acho que há pouco comida, as sardinhas não chegam para tanta gente ✔️
- Não posso ir a um café a meio de manhã ✖️ passar sem = I can’t do without a café at midmorning.
- A Helena dá-se bem com todos os seus colegas de trabalho. Assim o ambiente é ótimo. ✔️
- O cão-polícia lançou-se sobre ladrão e conseguiu dominá-lo ✔️
OK at this point I had some wine. Let’s see how my success rate changes
- O Rui vai a frequentar concertos, desde que namora com aquela pianista ✖️ passou a = Rui started going to concerts ever since he started dating that pianist
- Estamos fartos de tentar modos diferentes de resolver a equação matemática mas não conseguimos chegar à solução. ✖️ Dar com = We’re exhausted from trying different ways to resolve the maths equation but we can’t find a solution
- A empregada pôs os pratos e os talheres sobre a mesa para o jantar dos patrões. ✔️
- O deputado do partido “Os Verdes” foi ontem a Dublin, onde esteve dois dias e deu uma conferência. ✖️ Chegou de = The MP from the Green Party arrived yesterday from Dublin where he was for two days and gave a conference.
- O António foi para Bruxelas com um contrato de trabalho de três anos. ✔️
- Abriu a porta de repente e deu com o filho mais novo a fumar às escondidas. ✔️
Oof, pretty terrible. Maybe I need to keep ploughing on because I’m really not doing well with these! That’s what? 11/21? Even with a reference book to hand. Terrible!
Luso 