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Essas mangas estão boas?

Episódio 13 Língua da Gente Fazer compras no mercado
Orlando R. Kelm · COERLL / University of Texas at Austin · CC BY 4.0
Step 1 — Listen
🎧 Podcast Episode
First listen: Where does this conversation take place? Who are the two speakers? What are they doing?

Can't hear it? Download MP3 ↗

Step 2 — Read
📄 Diálogo

A: Ô moço, essas mangas estão boas? — Excuse me, are these mangos ripe?

B: As espadas estão ótimas. — The "espadas" are great.

A: OK, me dá umas 6 dessas. — OK, give me 6 of them.

B: Tá, mais alguma coisa? — OK, anything else?

A: Não, obrigada. — No, thank you.

Grammar 1
ESTAR + adjetivo — qualidade temporária
Use ESTAR (not SER) for the current condition of food:
PortuguêsEnglish
A manga está ótima.The mango is great (right now).
As frutas estão maduras.The fruits are ripe.
O café está quente.The coffee is hot.
Os abacaxis estão doces.The pineapples are sweet.

⚠️ SER is for permanent characteristics. ESTAR describes a temporary state — how something tastes or feels right now.

Grammar 2
Comprando na feira — frases essenciais
Key shopping expressions from the dialogue:
PortuguêsEnglishNote
Ô moçoExcuse me / Hey thereVocative — used to call attention to a vendor (moço = young man)
Me dá umas 6.Give me about 6.Umas = approximately — softens the number
Tá.OK. / Sure.Colloquial form of Está bem — very common in Brazil
Mais alguma coisa?Anything else?Standard phrase at any Brazilian market or shop
Não, obrigada.No, thank you.Obrigada (f.) / Obrigado (m.) — match your own gender
Phonology
🔊 Vogais nasais — ã e ão
Brazilian Portuguese nasal vowels don't exist in English. The letters ã and ão produce a nasal resonance — air flows through the nose as you speak.

Practice: manga · manhã · amanhã · tanta · estão · são · não

Tip: Try humming slightly through your nose as you say the vowel — that's the nasal quality English speakers often miss.
Culture
🌿 A feira livre
Feiras livres (open-air street markets) are a weekly institution across Brazil — every neighbourhood has one on a set day. Vendors know their produce inside out: they can tell you exactly when each fruit will be ripe and help you pick the best one. There's also an art to haggling. Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of tropical fruits: manga, abacaxi, mamão, goiaba, caju, maracujá — many of which are hard to find fresh outside the country. The espada mango mentioned in the dialogue is one of the most common varieties sold at Brazilian feiras — long, green-skinned, and very sweet when ripe.
Exercise 1
True or False?
Based on the dialogue, select T (true) or F (false) for each statement.
The customer asks if the mangos are good.
The vendor says the espadas are OK but not great.
The customer buys 6 mangos.
The customer buys something else too.
Exercise 2
Fill in the gaps
Complete each line of the dialogue. Type the missing word — with or without accents, both are accepted.
1. Ô , essas mangas estão boas?
2. As espadas estão .
3. OK, me umas 6 dessas.
4. Tá, mais alguma ?
5. Não, .
Exercise 3
Está or Estão?
Choose the correct form of ESTAR for each sentence.
1. A manga ótima.
2. As frutas maduras.
3. O café quente.
4. Os abacaxis doces.
5. A feira cheia hoje.
Exercise 4
Your turn — write in Portuguese
Answer in Portuguese.
Write your own answers. There are no right or wrong responses — this activity is about expressing your own ideas and experiences.

1. You're at a feira. Ask the vendor if the papayas (mamões) are ripe (maduros). Use Ô moço and ESTAR.

2. The vendor says they're great. Ask for about 3 of them. Use me dá and uns/umas.

3. The vendor asks Mais alguma coisa? You want to add a pineapple (abacaxi). How do you respond?

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