Telling a news story
Vocabulary
- testemunhawitness
- acidenteaccident
- investigarto investigate
- vítimavictim
- suspeitosuspect
- locallocation / scene
- delitooffence / crime
- assaltorobbery
- incêndiofire
- salvamentorescue
- ocorrênciaincident / occurrence
- feridoinjured person
To narrate a news story in Portuguese, you need to master the interplay between two past tenses: the imperfeito and the pretérito perfeito simples.
Imperfeito (setting the scene / ongoing action):
- *Ele caminhava pela rua.* — He was walking down the street.
- *Chovia muito naquela noite.* — It was raining a lot that night.
Pretérito perfeito simples (sudden / completed event):
- *De repente, ouviu um grito.* — Suddenly, he heard a scream.
- *A polícia chegou rapidamente.* — The police arrived quickly.
Combined in narration:
- *Ele caminhava pela rua quando ouviu uma explosão.* — He was walking down the street when he heard an explosion.
Time markers:
- *De repente* — Suddenly
- *Naquele momento* — At that moment
- *Enquanto* — While (+ imperfeito)
- *Quando* — When (triggers perfeito for the interrupting event)
Tip: Think of the imperfeito as the background and the perfeito simples as the foreground action.
Expressions
- Ele caminhava quando ouviu...Background action interrupted
- De repente, houve uma explosão.Narrating a sudden event
- Naquele momento, todos fugiram.Describing an immediate reaction
- Enquanto chovia, o rio subiu.Two simultaneous past actions
- A testemunha viu tudo.Reporting what a witness saw
- A polícia investigou o caso.Completed investigation
Common mistakes
Ele caminhou quando ouviu um grito.Ele caminhava quando ouviu um grito.Use imperfeito for the ongoing background action, not perfeito.
Enquanto choveu, o rio subiu.Enquanto chovia, o rio subiu.'Enquanto' (while) requires the imperfeito for simultaneous actions.
De repente, havia uma explosão.De repente, houve uma explosão.Sudden events use the perfeito simples, not imperfeito.
A testemunha via tudo.A testemunha viu tudo.A completed observation uses perfeito simples 'viu' not imperfeito 'via'.
A polícia chegou rápido.A polícia chegou rapidamente.Use the adverb 'rapidamente' not the adjective 'rápido' to modify the verb.
Quick quiz
Question 1 of 5
How do you say “accident” in Portuguese?
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