Class #1 with Foster, June 10, 2026
note: this is a recording of your private coaching session with Foster. No one will see it except you, Alexia, and Foster 🙏
Video
Audio
Session summary
Our first session! We got to know each other in Portuguese, talked about Cincinnati, your trip to Mexico, your art, and your story of meeting a Brazilian at the airport. Along the way we covered gender agreement, the Brazilian love of the past tense, open vs. closed vowels, and the single most useful habit for building fluency: answering with the verb.
🗣️ Saying "I'm not sure"
Eu não tenho certeza. — I'm not sure.
(literally "I have no certainty," the most natural way to say it)
Tá tudo certo? — Is everything good?
"Estou certa" exists but is less common. Default to tenho certeza / não tenho certeza.
👩 Gender agreement (just like Spanish)
Eu estou animada. — I'm excited. (you say animada, Foster says animado)
Como diria? / Como falaria? — How would you say...? (both work, same meaning)
Masculine and feminine work almost exactly like Spanish: o/a instead of el/la.
🏙️ Talking about where you're from
eu nasci — I was born
eu cresci — I grew up
mudar — to change (Spanish "cambiar" is a different word, watch out)
A cidade mudou muito. — The city has changed a lot.
"Tem mudado" exists (like Spanish "ha cambiado") but it's formal.
Brazilians keep the past simple: it changed, it's still changing, same thing. Mudou.
💚 Gostar DE + contractions
Gosto DA cidade. — I like the city. (de + a = da)
Gosto DO cachorro. — I like the dog. (de + o = do)
Gostar always takes de. GOSTER + DE.
❄️ Snow & "there is"
Neva muito no inverno. — It snows a lot in the winter. (simplest and most natural)
Tem muita neve. — There's a lot of snow.
The verb haver ("há neve") exists but spoken Brazilian Portuguese almost always uses ter instead.
a neve — snow (feminine)
✈️ Mexico, travel & the "pra" reduction
Você viajou pro México agora? — Did you travel to Mexico recently?
agora here doesn't mean "right now," it means recently. (like the Mexican "ahorita," time is flexible)
In writing: para o México. In speech, Brazilians reduce it: pro México, pra praia. Alexia says "Vamo pra praia" and she's literally saying "Vamos para a praia," all squeezed down.
Viajei pro México pra uma semana. — I traveled to Mexico for a week.
voltar — to return
Quando você voltou? — When did you come back?
Voltei há uma semana. / Voltei uma semana atrás. — I came back a week ago. (both correct)
✅ The golden habit: answer with the verb
Brazilians answer yes/no questions by repeating the verb, usually in the past, even for present situations:
Você gostou da comida? → Gostei. (asked while you're still eating!)
Tem certeza? → Tenho. (or "Tenho certeza")
Just "sim" alone is less common. Building this habit automatically trains your verb conjugations.
🎨 Free time & loving things
Eu gosto de fazer arte. — I like making art.
Eu pinto. — I paint.
eu amo / eu adoro — I love (both very common; adoro has a wide open vowel in the middle: a-DÓ-ro)
🔊 Open vs. closed vowels
avô — grandfather (closed ô)
avó — grandmother (open ó)
The trick for training your ear and mouth: olha (from olhar, to look — Spanish "mira"). Brazilians say it constantly: Olha só! — Look at that! Four open vowels back to back.
falou — he/she spoke (the OU is a closed diphthong)
falei — I spoke (the EI sounds like "ballet")
O que você falou? → Eu falei...
eu sei — I know
🗣️ The Brazilian crutch: "É"
É. — Yeah. / Right. / I agree.
The universal Brazilian filler. When someone's talking fast and you're half-following: "É... ah, é? Pois é." Works every time.
🛫 Your airport story (great practice!)
Conheci um brasileiro. — I met a Brazilian. (conhecer for meeting someone the first time)
Ele estava atrás de mim na fila. — He was behind me in line.
Virei. — I turned around. (virar — to turn)
Ele podia ver minha cara. — He could see my face.
De onde você é? / Você é da onde? — Where are you from? (both totally natural)
Ainda não. — Not yet. (Have you visited Brazil? Ainda não!)
Um dia sim, eu gostaria muito. — One day, yes, I'd love to.
🆘 Survival phrases
Você pode falar um pouco mais devagar? — Can you speak a little slower?
Desculpa, pode repetir? — Sorry, can you repeat that?
Não entendi. — I didn't understand.
🔊 One pronunciation note
pergunta — question. (Watch the first syllable: per-GUN-ta, not "pre-gunta")
📚 Resources
Season 6 — Fundamentals for Beginners
Start with the repetition audios — recordings with Alexia, her dad, and other Brazilians, so you get a variety of accents. Listen and repeat out loud, as many times as you can. Great for the Florida trip: pretend you're on the phone and just repeat.
Tá Falado — Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
Free course from the University of Texas at Austin, built exactly for your situation: pronunciation and grammar through the lens of Spanish.