Story – Episode 6: this is my family

1. Watch the video. João is going to show Marta a picture of his family.

2. The European pronunciation for a couple of the sentences in the video may sound like this:

Esta é a minha mãe.

Este é o meu pai.

Listen

3. Let’s expand on the language in the video. We can use this language to introduce people or to indicate that something belongs to someone. One of the things João says is:

Esta é a minha mãe.

In a different setting he could have said:

Essa é a minha mãe.

Using esta or essa depends on where the speaker and where the listener are in relation to what the speaker is referring to.

Let’s look at examples, but before, note:

A avó = the grandmother (feminine and singular word)

O celular (BP), o telemóvel (EP) = the mobile phone (masculine and singular word)

Here the grandmother is close to the speaker. Listen

Here the grandmother is close to the listener. Listen

Esta = this next to me.

Essa = that next to you.

If what the speaker is referring to is a masculine and singular word, we use:

Este = this next to me.

Esse = that next to you.

Examples:

Here the mobile phone is close to the speaker. Listen

Here the mobile phone is close to the listener. Listen

4. If the person or thing is away from both speaker and listener, we use: aquela, aquele. However, we do not need to learn these words for now.

5. Follow how João introduces members of his family in the video. In the comments, introduce 3 members of your family. Use Vocaroo to post the link to your speaking. Wait for an answer where another learner transcribes what they hear, then you confirm if it is correct or not. Example:

Learner 1: (Vocaroo link goes here – introduce 3 members of your family).

Learner 2 transcribes what Learner 1 said: Este é o meu pai. Esta é a minha irmã. Esta é a minha mãe.

Learner 1 replies: That’s right!