Língua da Gente EP17 — Exercícios | Brazilian Portuguese Hub

Step 1 — Listen

🎧 Podcast Episode

First listen: What is happening in this scene? What does person A notice? What does person B ask person A to do?

Can't hear it? Download MP3 ↗

Step 2 — Read

📄 Diálogo

A: Mas que cheiro gostoso!

B: Estou preparando o jantar.

A: Moqueca, não é? Adoro esse cheiro.

B: Vai lavar as mãos porque está quase pronto.

Grammar 1

ESTAR + gerúndio — o presente contínuo

To say what is happening right now, use ESTAR + verb ending in -ndo:

Infinitivo	Gerúndio	Example
preparar	preparando	Estou preparando o jantar.
lavar	lavando	Vou lavando as mãos.
fazer	fazendo	Estou fazendo moqueca.
comer	comendo	Estamos comendo agora.
servir	servindo	Ela está servindo o prato.

Formation: drop the infinitive ending (-ar/-er/-ir) → add -ando (for -ar verbs) or -endo/-indo (for -er/-ir verbs).

Grammar 2

"Não é?" — a tag question · "Vai + infinitivo" — o imperativo suave

Two communicative shortcuts from the dialogue:

Expressão	Meaning	Notes
Moqueca, não é?	Moqueca, right?	"Não é?" = the all-purpose tag question in BP. Used to confirm a guess or seek agreement.
Vai lavar as mãos.	Go wash your hands.	"Vai + infinitive" is a soft imperative — warmer than a formal command. Very common in family/home settings.

More "vai + infinitivo" examples: Vai dormir. (Go to sleep.) · Vai comer. (Go eat.) · Vai buscar. (Go get it.)

Phonology

🔊 O ditongo "ei" — cheiro, gostoso, jantar

The diphthong "ei" in Brazilian Portuguese is a falling diphthong — the stress lands on the first vowel, then glides down. It sounds like "ay" in "say," but shorter and more closed.

Practice: cheiro · feio · sei · lei · primeiro · leite · beijo

Also notice the ch sound in "cheiro" — in Brazilian Portuguese, ch = "sh" (as in "shoe"), not "ch" as in "cheese."

Contrast: cheiro (sh-AY-roo) · chave (SHA-vee) · chuva (SHOO-vah)

Culture

🍲 Moqueca — o orgulho da culinária brasileira

Moqueca is a rich Brazilian fish stew and one of the country's most iconic dishes. There are two great regional versions: moqueca baiana (from Bahia), made with coconut milk, dendê oil, tomatoes, onion, garlic, coriander, and fish — golden and fragrant; and moqueca capixaba (from Espírito Santo), lighter, made without coconut milk, slow-cooked in a traditional clay pot called panela de barro. Brazilians from both states defend their version passionately. The dish goes back centuries, rooted in Indigenous and African culinary traditions. The word moqueca likely comes from Tupi moquém (a way of cooking fish over fire).

Exercise 1

True or False?

Based on the dialogue, select T (true) or F (false) for each statement.

Person A notices a delicious smell.

Person B is preparing lunch.

Person A correctly guesses the dish is moqueca.

Person B says the food is already cold.

Exercise 2

Complete the dialogue

Fill in each blank with the correct word from the dialogue.

1. Mas que cheiro !

2. Estou o jantar.

3. Moqueca, não ?

4. esse cheiro.

5. Vai lavar as mãos porque está quase .

Exercise 3

Qual é o gerúndio correto?

Choose the correct -ndo form to complete each sentence in the present progressive.

1. Estou o jantar.

2. Ela está as mãos.

3. A gente está moqueca.

4. Eles estão o cheiro.

5. Você está o prato agora?

Exercise 4

Your turn — Production

Answer in Portuguese.
Write your own answers. There are no right or wrong responses — this activity is about expressing your own ideas and experiences.

💡 Bring your sentences to class and share them out loud!

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