Língua da Gente — Sai da Cama!

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

First listen: What is the situation? What time is it? What is the relationship between the two speakers?

Língua da Gente · Episode 25

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💬 The Conversation

Listen again while reading. Notice the two commands speaker A uses — and how B responds when caught in bed!

A

João! Levanta! São sete horas já!

João! Get up! It's already seven o'clock!

B

O que? Não, não pode ser!

What? No, it can't be!

A

Sai da cama já.

Get out of bed already.

B

Tá, já vou.

OK, I'm coming.

📖 Modo Imperativo — Giving commands

In Brazilian Portuguese, the informal imperative is simply the 3rd person singular of the present indicative — the same form as você. No extra endings needed!

Infinitive	Você (present)	Imperative	Meaning
falar	você fala	Fala!	Speak!
levantar	você levanta	Levanta!	Get up!
entrar	você entra	Entra!	Come in!
comer	você come	Come!	Eat!
sair	você sai	Sai!	Get out! / Leave!
dormir	você dorme	Dorme!	Sleep!

In the dialogue: "João! Levanta!" and "Sai da cama já." — both are informal commands, spoken with urgency.

📖 São X horas — Telling the time

Speaker A says "São sete horas já!" — It's already seven o'clock! Here's how to tell time in Portuguese.

Portuguese	English
É uma hora.	It's one o'clock.
São duas horas.	It's two o'clock.
São sete horas.	It's seven o'clock.
São oito e meia.	It's half past eight.
São sete horas já!	It's already seven o'clock!

💡 É vs. São Use é only for 1 o'clock (uma hora), because it is singular. Use são for all other times (duas, três, sete horas…) — they are plural. This is one of the most common mistakes for beginners!

📖 Key Expressions from the Dialogue

Portuguese	English	Notes
Levanta!	Get up!	Imperative of levantar. Common morning command — often repeated with growing impatience!
São sete horas já!	It's already seven o'clock!	Já adds urgency — it implies: this should have happened earlier. Great for expressing frustration.
Não pode ser!	It can't be! / No way!	Fixed idiomatic expression. B's reaction of disbelief — very natural in everyday Brazilian speech.
Sai da cama já.	Get out of bed already.	Imperative of sair + já = immediate action required! Já after a command signals zero patience.
Tá, já vou.	OK, I'm coming.	Já vou = I'm about to go / I'll be right there. A reassurance that action is imminent — even if B is still in bed!
Tá	OK / Alright	Short for está or está bem. One of the most frequent words in informal Brazilian speech.

🇧🇷 Culture Note — The many faces of "já" In this short dialogue, já appears three times — each with a different shade of meaning. "São sete horas já!" → already (expressing surprise and frustration). "Sai da cama já." → right now / immediately (adding urgency to a command). "Já vou." → in a moment / I'm coming (reassuring, but often said without moving). Learning to feel these nuances will make your Portuguese sound genuinely natural.

🔊 Phonology Note — "Tá, já vou" — connected speech This phrase is spoken almost as one breath in natural Brazilian speech: "tá-já-vô". The final vowel of vou tends to be reduced and the phrase flows together quickly. Listen carefully in the audio — B's voice has that sleepy, reluctant speed. Tá and né? are the two most useful words to sound natural in informal conversation.

1 What does it mean? — Expression Quiz

Each expression comes from the dialogue. Choose the correct English meaning.

Não pode ser!

✅ Correct! Não pode ser! is a fixed expression of disbelief or shock. Very common when something surprises you — like waking up and realising how late it is!

São sete horas já!

✅ Correct! São = it is (plural hours), já = already. The já here expresses frustration — it should have been done sooner!

Tá, já vou.

✅ Correct! Já vou = I'm about to go / I'll be right there. It's a reassurance — though in real life it often means "give me five more minutes!"

Sai da cama!

✅ Correct! Sai is the imperative of sair (to leave / get out). Da cama = from the bed. A very direct command!

2 Complete the Dialogue

Fill in the blanks. Type the missing word or form.
Word bank: Levanta · horas · cama · já · vou

— João! ! São sete já!

— O que? Não, não pode ser!

— Sai da já.

— Tá, .

3 Imperative forms — Give the command!

What would you say to tell someone to do these things? Choose the correct imperative form.

falar → _____ português!

levantar → _____ agora!

sair → _____ da cama!

dormir → _____ agora!

4 Your Turn — Morning commands!

Write in Portuguese.
What commands do you hear (or give!) in the morning? Write at least 3 sentences using the imperative.