A2 — Elementary·3 min read·Everyday Life·introductions

Ana Era Nova na Empresa

O primeiro dia da Ana no escritório, contado no passado. Observa como "é" (presente) se torna "era" ou "foi" — e como "foi" é partilhado por ser e ir.

Theme verbser—to be (permanent) — past tenses

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Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation

Era segunda-feira de manhã. Ana entrou no escritório novo com uma mochila às costas e um sorriso nervoso. Era nova naquela empresa — era a sua primeira semana. O colega que levantou os olhos do computador chamava-se Rui. Era de Lisboa e era programador. Ana apresentou-se: era designer, de Coimbra, mas agora vivia em Lisboa.

It was Monday morning. Ana entered the new office with a backpack on her back and a nervous smile. She was new at that company — it was her first week. The colleague who looked up from his computer was called Rui. He was from Lisbon and was a programmer. Ana introduced herself: she was a designer, from Coimbra, but now lived in Lisbon.

Naquele dia, a equipa era de doze pessoas, mas só eram seis no escritório porque os outros estavam em reunião em Cascais. O escritório era moderno: as paredes eram brancas e as janelas eram grandes. Ana sentiu logo que era um bom lugar para trabalhar — as pessoas eram simpáticas e o trabalho parecia interessante.

That day, the team was twelve people, but there were only six in the office because the others were at a meeting in Cascais. The office was modern: the walls were white and the windows were large. Ana felt straight away that it was a good place to work — the people were friendly and the work seemed interesting.

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Vocabulary Glossary

WordMeaning
apresentou-seintroduced himself/herself
acolhedoraswelcoming (fem. pl.)
tranquilocalm / quiet
começobeginning / start
naquela noitethat night
erawas / used to be (imperfect of ser)
foramwere / went (preterite of ser/ir)
foiwas / went (preterite of ser/ir)
erasyou were (imperfect of ser)
éramoswe were (imperfect of ser)
eramthey were (imperfect of ser)
fuiI was (preterite of ser)
fosteyou were (preterite of ser)
segunda-feiraMonday
escritóriooffice
mochilabackpack / rucksack
costasback (body part)
nervosonervous
empresacompany / firm
semanaweek
colegacolleague
computadorcomputer
programadorprogrammer / software developer
designerdesigner
CoimbraCoimbra (Portuguese university city)
equipateam
dozetwelve
reuniãomeeting
CascaisCascais (coastal town near Lisbon)
modernomodern
paredeswalls
brancaswhite (feminine plural)
janelaswindows
grandeslarge / big (plural)
interessanteinteresting
simpáticasfriendly / nice (feminine plural)
directordirector / manager
prazerpleasure

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