A Decisão da Inês
A Inês tem uma proposta de emprego em Lisboa, mas o coração fica na sua cidade natal de Braga — e com o Diogo.
ficar—to stay / to become / to be leftRead this in the PortuStories app
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Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation
A Inês trabalhava numa livraria no centro de Braga há três anos. Gostava do seu trabalho — conhecia todos os clientes pelo nome, sabia que livros eles preferiam, e sentia que a livraria era quase como a sua casa. Mas em fevereiro chegou um e-mail que mudou tudo: uma grande editora em Lisboa queria contratá-la como editora assistente.
Inês had been working in a bookshop in the centre of Braga for three years. She liked her work — she knew all the customers by name, knew which books they preferred, and felt that the bookshop was almost like her home. But in February an email arrived that changed everything: a large publishing house in Lisbon wanted to hire her as an assistant editor.
A Inês ficou muito agitada quando leu o e-mail. Era uma oportunidade incrível — um emprego melhor pago, numa editora conhecida, na capital. A sua amiga Joana, que trabalhava com ela na livraria, ficou entusiasmada. — Inês! Tens de aceitar! Lisboa é fantástica. Eu ficaria louca de contente no teu lugar!
Inês became very agitated when she read the email. It was an incredible opportunity — a better-paid job, in a well-known publishing house, in the capital. Her friend Joana, who worked with her at the bookshop, was enthusiastic. — Inês! You have to accept! Lisbon is fantastic. I would be over the moon in your place!
The remaining 9 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ficar | to stay / to become / to be left |
| ficar aliviado/a | to feel relieved |
| ficar acordado/a | to stay awake / to lie awake |
| ficar em silêncio | to fall silent / to stay quiet |
| ficar em paz | to be at peace / to feel peaceful |
| namorar | to date / to be in a relationship |
| editora | publishing house / publisher |
| livraria | bookshop |
| proposta de trabalho | job offer |
| bica | espresso coffee (Portugal) |
| emprego fixo | steady job / permanent position |
| a distância | long distance (as in relationship) |
| ao fim de semana | at the weekend |
| quarto arrendado | rented room / rented flat |
| agitado/a | agitated / unsettled |
| do costume | usual / the usual one |
| louca de contente | over the moon / extremely happy |
| migalha | breadcrumb |
| pombo | pigeon |
| carrinho de bebé | pram / pushchair |
| orgulhoso/a | proud |
| dúvida | doubt / uncertainty |
| motivo | reason / motive |
| praça | square / plaza |
| ter a certeza | to be sure / to be certain |
| perceber | to realise / to understand |
| engenheiro/a | engineer |
| entusiasmado/a | enthusiastic / excited |
| mercado municipal | municipal market |
| em paz | at peace / peaceful |
| trabalhava | worked / used to work (past imperfect of trabalhar) |
| trabalhar | to work |
| clientes | customers / clients |
| pelo nome | by name |
| preferiam | preferred (3rd person plural past imperfect of preferir) |
| preferir | to prefer |
| quase | almost / nearly |
| fevereiro | February |
| chegou | arrived (past of chegar) |
| mudou | changed (past of mudar) |
| mudar | to change |
| editora assistente | assistant editor |
| contratar | to hire / to employ |
| contratá-la | to hire her |
| oportunidade | opportunity / chance |
| incrível | incredible / amazing |
| melhor pago | better paid |
| conhecida | well-known / known (feminine) |
| capital | capital (city) |
| Joana | Joana (female name) |
| aceitar | to accept |
| fantástica | fantastic / great (feminine) |
| ficaria | would stay / would become (conditional of ficar) |
| no teu lugar | in your place / if I were you |
| não tinha certeza | was not sure / was uncertain |
| ruas | streets |
| antigas | old / ancient (feminine plural) |
| mercado municipal | municipal market / covered market |
| tomava | used to have / was having (past imperfect of tomar) |
| manhãs | mornings (plural) |
| namoravam | were dating (3rd person plural past imperfect of namorar) |
| um ano e meio | a year and a half |
| engenheiro | engineer (masculine) |
| nem | nor / not even |
| essa tarde | that afternoon |
| encontrou-se | met (past of encontrar-se) |
| encontrar-se | to meet (each other) |
| junto à janela | by the window |
| pastéis | pastries (plural) |
| pensava | thought / was thinking (past imperfect of pensar) |
| acontece | happens (3rd person singular present of acontecer) |
| acontecer | to happen |
| preocupados | worried (masculine plural) |
| tentar | to try |
| podemos | we can (1st person plural present of poder) |
| decisão | decision |
| quero | I want (1st person singular present of querer) |
| acordada | awake (feminine) |
| pensar | to think |
| cama | bed |
| escuro | dark / darkness |
| imaginou | imagined (past of imaginar) |
| imaginar | to imagine |
| versões | versions (plural) |
| arrendado | rented (masculine) |
| via | saw / used to see (past imperfect of ver) |
| dúvida | doubt |
| ligou | called (past of ligar) |
| aparecem | appear / come along (3rd person plural present of aparecer) |
| desaparecem | disappear (3rd person plural present of desaparecer) |
| pergunta-te | ask yourself |
| ganhas | you earn (2nd person singular present of ganhar) |
| dinheiro | money |
| sábado | Saturday |
| pediu | ordered / asked for (past of pedir) |
| ficou a olhar | stood / sat looking (stayed looking) |
| observar | to watch / to observe |
| idosa | elderly (feminine) |
| dava | gave / was giving (past imperfect of dar) |
| rapazes | boys / young men (plural) |
| jogavam | were playing (past imperfect of jogar) |
| à bola | football (playing ball) |
| empurrava | was pushing (past imperfect of empurrar) |
| empurrar | to push |
| respondeu | replied (past of responder) |
| agradeceu | thanked (past of agradecer) |
| agradecer | to thank / to express gratitude |
| motivos pessoais | personal reasons |
| profissionais | professional (plural) |
| enviou | sent (past of enviar) |
| aliviada | relieved (feminine) |
| triste | sad |
| surpreendido | surprised (masculine) |
| tens a certeza | are you sure? |
| pensei | I thought (1st person singular past of pensar) |
| percebi | I realised (1st person singular past of perceber) |
| embora | although / even though |
| sorriso | smile (noun) |
| verdadeiro | genuine / true (masculine) |
| pegou na mão | held her hand (took her hand) |
| prometo | I promise (1st person singular present of prometer) |
| prometer | to promise |
| criar | to create / to build |
| orgulhosa | proud (feminine) |
| certa | right / correct (feminine) |
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