How to talk about personal experiences in Brazilian Portuguese

Level A2

How to talk about personal experiences in Brazilian Portuguese

To ask about life experiences, use já with a simple past form: “Você já cozinhou pra sua família?” means “Have you ever cooked for your family?” English uses “have” here, but Portuguese does not need a separate helping verb. Use você in everyday conversation and o senhor when addressing a man respectfully; a senhora is the corresponding form for a woman, and all three take the same verb form. Pra is a conversational form of para, and a gente is a common conversational way to say “we,” used with a singular verb.

Já: asking whether something has happened before

Have you ever…? Everyday and respectful questions

pessoa já verbo no passado experiência?

Answering with já, nunca and how many times

Resposta afirmativa: sim, já verbo no passado frequência ou lugar, se necessário. Resposta negativa: não, nunca verbo no passado frequência ou lugar, se necessário.

Everyday conversation: cooking for your family

Respectful conversation: a trip to Japan

From a short answer to a short story

Answer an experience question with “Já. Só uma vez.” or give a count, as in “Sim, já fui duas vezes.” Unlike English “Yes, I have,” the short answer can be just já; for a negative answer, use nunca before the past verb, as in “Não, nunca cozinhei pra minha família.”

Once you describe one occasion, say when it happened: “Foi no domingo passado. Primeiro, fiz uma sopa.” Use primeiro for the first action and depois for the next, then give the outcome and your reaction: “Todo mundo gostou da sopa, então fiquei feliz.” Brazilian Portuguese uses the simple past for completed events like this, while the present perfect can describe experiences or events continuing to the present. Portuguese can leave out a clear subject, as in fiz and adorei, while conversational a gente keeps a singular verb, as in “a gente comeu junto.”

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