Passing on service messages in Brazilian Portuguese

Level A2

Passing on service messages in Brazilian Portuguese

Ana works at a clinic. She sends you a message intended for Bruno. Pass it on to him: keep the date, time, place and action, and make clear who supplied the information.

Recover the pieces you need

Consulta = medical appointment; a consulta identifies the appointment already being discussed. Preciso means “I need”, from precisar; você precisa means “you need”, addressing one person. Before an action, use precisa + the base form: no de in these models. Vou + the base form expresses a plan: vou means “I am going to” here.

You have used que to identify a person or object. Here que has a different job: it introduces the content of someone’s words. We will name the source, then pass on the useful information. You do not have to quote every word.

The appointment and the message

Clínica = clinic; documento = document, here a paper required for the appointment, with no particular type specified. Um documento = a document: um introduces one, and documento is masculine. Trazer = bring to the agreed destination; ligar = make a telephone call. Dizer = say; avisar = let someone know, give them needed information. Here avisar does not imply danger.

Read Ana’s whole message

These three lines form Ana’s message to Bruno. A consulta é dia dez de junho, às dez = “The appointment is on 10 June at ten”. Dia = day, dez = ten, junho = June; de joins the day and month. Dia dez de junho gives the calendar date; às dez gives the time. É is from ser, used here for when an appointment takes place.

A consulta é na clínica = “The appointment is at the clinic”. Na combines em + a, “at the”; é now gives the event’s location. This is an appointment taking place somewhere, rather than the location of a person or object. Você precisa trazer um documento = “You need to bring a document”. Here você is Bruno. The date, time and place are scheduled information; bringing a document is an action he needs to take. The message does not say he has already brought it. Listen to the three lines as one message.

Name the source, then report the content

Ana diz que… = “Ana says that…”. Diz is the present form of dizer used with Ana, ele, ela or você; learn dizer → diz rather than building diz by a regular rule. Que introduces what Ana says and stays in these models. Portuguese does not require an English-style tense change simply because you report words: here é stays é. This is present reporting, not a lesson on all past reporting patterns.

The first three lines below make a compact message to Bruno: “Ana says it is on 10 June. At ten, at the clinic. You need to bring a document.” É can leave out a consulta because the appointment is already clear. The second line is a useful short addition, not a full sentence. Ana remains the source of this whole message. Keep the action in its own sentence so it is not mistaken for a completed fact. The fourth line shows another possible full report of the place; it is not extra source information.

Ana diz que …

Let the right person know

Vou avisar o Bruno = “I’ll let Bruno know”. Avisar stays in its base form after vou. O before Bruno and a before Ana are articles often used with personal names; their use varies in Brazil. In these models, avisar directly names the recipient: avisar o Bruno, avisar a Ana.

Você precisa avisar a Ana = “You need to let Ana know”. Precisa + avisar keeps the base form too. This line teaches a different recipient; it is not part of Ana’s original message and does not add a duty to Bruno’s appointment. Dizer que names the source and content; avisar emphasizes getting needed information to someone.

Vou / Você precisa avisar o Bruno / a Ana

Pass on a new message

Now start a separate situation. Ana sends the first two lines below for Bruno. Hoje = today; às nove = at nine; ligar = telephone. Pass them on to Bruno on the same day. Before reading the third line, begin with Ana diz que, then give the time and place and the required action in two or three short sentences. Keep the clinic and the telephone call; do not invent a phone number, document or reason.

Check: “Ana diz que a consulta é hoje às nove. É na clínica. Você precisa ligar.” The third audio line checks your opening. The remaining sentences reuse the patterns above. Hoje still means the same day because you are passing it on that day. If the day changes, the message needs a clear calendar date. Did you distinguish the appointment information from what Bruno needs to do?

A useful message is faithful to its source

Use Ana diz que to identify the source, and avisar to get the information to the recipient. Check date, time, place and action against the original. Keep the request separate from completed actions; do not fill gaps with guesses. You can now pass on a short service message with a clear source and the essential details.

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