European Vs Brazilian Portuguese – Is there a Difference in Grammar?

The Portuguese language is spoken by over 250 million people all over the world which leads to various regional accents of this language. However, the Portuguese language is mainly divided into two branches – European Portuguese (one spoken in Portugal) and Brazilian Portuguese (one spoken in Brazil). Although much of the difference between these two branches lies in their sound and pronunciation, the grammar of the two branches also differs in certain areas. If you're planning to study Portuguese online, it's helpful to understand these grammatical distinctions.

Many students have a question in their mind – “can I use the Brazilian Portuguese if I have learned European, or vice versa…”. Well, both the branches share the same core grammar but they retain some subtle differences. If you can understand these differences, you can easily use both the branches correctly.

The 2nd Person

If you are a student of Portuguese language, you must already be aware that the European Portuguese uses two words in the second person – “tu” and “você”. Here “tu” is used to refer to someone informally whereas “você” is used for a formal reference.
In Brazilian Portuguese however, we use only one word in the place of second person – “você”. There is no differentiation of formal and informal in Brazilian Portuguese when it comes to referring to the second person and everyone can universally be referred to as “você”.

This crucial difference leads to some extra conjugations of verbs in European Portuguese. A sentence like “tu aprendes português da Linguapol?” (you learn Portuguese from Linguapol? - informal) can only be used in European Portuguese whereas it remains “você aprende português da Linguapol” in Brazilian in both formal and informal situations. So whether you’re taking a learn Portuguese course or trying to learn Portugal language, understanding these subtleties will really help.

The Continuous Tense (Gerúndio)

The way in which verbs are conjugated in the continuous tense in European Portuguese and in Brazilian are different. Keeping the core concept of conjugating the “estar” verb same in both branches, the conjugation of the primary verb differs.

In European Portuguese, we say “Ele está a falar em português” (He is speaking in Portuguese) whereas in Brazilian Portuguese, we use the gerúndio form of the verb and we say “ele está falando em português” (he is speaking in Portuguese). This is a key difference that many people discover when they learn to speak Portuguese or attend Portuguese courses online.

The Negative Imperative

The conjugation of verbs in the imperative tense (the tense we use to place orders) remains same for both Brazilian and European Portuguese except for the conjugation of verbs for the subject of “tu”.

It is not only that there are some extra conjugations to learn in European Portuguese because of the extra subject – “tu” but the conjugation of verbs for this subject also differs in affirmative and negative.

For example, in case of an affirmative sentence we say “Fala em português” (speak in Portuguese) whereas in negative we say “Não fales em inglês” (don’t speak in English).
These variations do not exist in Brazilian Portuguese and we will use the same conjugation of the verbs with both affirmative and negative imperative sentences.

Brazilian Portuguese has a more simplified grammar whereas the European Portuguese retains more formal and traditional structures. The Brazilians often take the leverage of not sticking to the correct grammar at all in the colloquial usage of spoken language which never happens with the European Portuguese. However, if you can be aware of the differences between the two branches, you can effectively communicate in both the branches of Portuguese.

Linguapol provides comprehensive Portuguese classes where the student is introduced to both Brazilian and European Portuguese. The teachers explain the subtle differences in grammar, pronunciation and lexicon which makes it easier for the student to gain knowledge of both branches. Online Portuguese classes at Linguapol facilitate effective communication in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. Our faculty puts extra effort to touch both the branches of Portuguese in each class so that you get an extra advantage when you are investing your time to learn the language. Choose Linguapol to begin your unique journey of learning Portuguese—it's truly the best website to learn Portuguese!