501 Portuguese Verbs

by John J. Nitti and Michael J. Ferreira

Book Overview

Barron's 501 Portuguese Verbs teaches you how to use the 501 most common and useful Portuguese verbs. Fluency starts with knowledge of verbs, and the authors provide clear, easy-to-use guidance. Each... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812090349
• ISBN13: 9780812090345
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
• Length: 533 Pages
• Weight: 1.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive, enlightening, essential reference.

Arm yourself with verbs. The nouns will come in time,and adjectives and adverbs are a more advanced tool that youwill naturally acquire through extensive reading and speaking.No, to gain fluency and functionality, you need verbs.This book is a collection of 501 Portuguese verbs, with fullconjugations listed and some very informative usage examples below each listing. Each verb takes up a page, has the English definition at the top, and lists the usage examples at the bottom. The index at the end of the book lists verbs in English, then in Portuguese, providing an excellent method for finding your verb choice even if you are a Portueguse student learning English. Yes, I meant exactly that: in learning Portuguese, I have found it helpful and enlightening to see what English words a Portuguese-speaker might choose, as it gives me insight into what a native might feel is the best translation of an idea.The best feature of this book, however, is the front matter. It explains each conjugation in depth, because if you are anything like me, you've forgotten exactly what a future subjunctive is. Heck, I don't even know if I've used a grammatical term there or not; good thing I bought this book though, because it'll tell me in plain terms what I need to know.This is truly a five-star reference. A comprehensive dictionary would surpass it in coverage, but from the perspective of learning Portuguese, this book has no peer.

Both sides of the Atlantic

First, this book contains a tremendous amount of information on verbs, in my view, fundamentally all you need to know. Secondly, it has the great advantage of considering both European and Brazilian Portuguese. You don't have to buy two different books! I would recommend this book to be used together with Manuela Cook's recent book Portuguese a complete course in understanding speaking and writing (just the book or better the book-audio pack). They have in common catering for the Portuguese of Portugal, Brazil and elsewhere in the world where this language is used. I would say that they are Perfect Partners.

A must have for Portuguese language students

This book is great for those who are studying Portuguese. Portuguese is my original language and my husband is trying to learn it. He has the "Living Laguage Brazilian Portuguese Complete Course" and this book, "501 Portuguese Verbs". This book is helping him to conjugate the verbs right. Portuguese is a very hard language to learn, especially when it comes to verbs. This book, with its 501 Portuguese verbs, is fully conjugated in all the tenses(up to 18 is some cases). The verbs are in alphabetical order, so it is easy to find and follow.I strongly recommend this book to all those who are learning Portuguese.

Portuguese Verb Conjugation Made Easy

Whether a student or traveler, "501 Portuguese Verbs" will make it easier for you to conjugate the many verbs associated with this Romance language. Just like many Romance languages, there are many tenses to memorize, however with the alphabetical, easy-to-use style authors John J. Nitti and Michael J. Ferreira have used, conjugating Portuguese verbs is as easy as 1-2-3.Similar to "501 Spanish Verbs," the book also contains short phrases commonly used in Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil and Portugal. The reader needs to be aware of the differences between Brazilian Portuguese and Continental Portuguese (spoken in Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome e Principe, Macao, East Timor, and Portuguese-language enclaves in India, Canada, and the United States). Brazilian usage often eliminates the "tu" tense, and certain participles are used in different order (e.g., "te" is used before a verb in Continental and after a verb in Brazilian usage). Overall, a must have for those wanting to brush up on their language skills. It's a great reference book to have in your collection.

Excellent verb reference

A large number of fully conjugated Portugese verbs. Most useful though is the examples of usage at the bottom of each page. One note to remember - this is Portugal Portuguese and not Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese students will still find the book useful, but remember to ignore the "tu" tense and remember that the imperative is different in Brazilian Portuguese.