Portuguese Grammar Guide

SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

On this page: Description, Questions, Exercises

Description

An Overview of Spelling

In general, Portuguese spelling is relatively consistent with pronunciation, though less transparent than Spanish. This means that spelling must often be learned alongside pronunciation.

Main rules for Portuguese spelling and pronunciation

Vowels

Portuguese vowels are always written, but their pronunciation can vary (especially in unstressed positions):

  • a, e, i, o, u

👉 Unlike Spanish:

  • vowels may be reduced or weakened in pronunciation (especially e and o)

Consonants

Some key points:

  • b and v → clearly distinct (unlike Spanish)

  • c →

    • before e/i → /s/ (certo)

    • elsewhere → /k_ (casa)

  • ç → always /s/ (coração)

  • g →

    • before e/i → /ʒ/ (gente)

    • elsewhere → /g/ (gato)

  • h → always silent (hora)

  • lh → like Spanish ll (filho)

  • nh → like Spanish ñ (vinho)

  • r / rr → different strengths (tap vs guttural/trill depending on position)

Accents

Accents indicate:

  • stress

  • vowel quality

Examples:

  • avó vs avô

  • público / publico / publicou

👉 Unlike Spanish, accents are not fully predictable, so they must be learned.

Punctuation

Portuguese follows standard punctuation:

  • no inverted question marks

  • ? ! only at the end

  • Queres vir comigo?

Cognates

Many words resemble English:

  • importante, natural, problema, música

👉 Watch for spelling differences:

  • televisão (not television)

  • família (accent)

Homophones

Words that sound similar but differ in spelling:

  • há (there is) vs a (to)

  • à (a + a) vs há

  • por vs pôr

  • tem vs têm

  • é vs e

⚠️ Important differences (EP vs Spanish)

  • No inverted punctuation

  • More accent complexity

  • Distinction between b and v

  • Greater vowel reduction

  • Different digraphs: lh, nh

🔑 Key points

  • Spelling is less phonetic than Spanish

  • Accents are crucial and less predictable

  • Many similarities exist, but differences matter

  • Homophones are a major source of errors

Questions

Questions about Spelling

Q: Why is it Não gosto de mim and NOT Não gosto de mi?
The form mim is used after prepositions:

  • de mim, para mim, com mim

👉 Contrast:

  • mim = “me” (after prepositions)

  • meu/minha = “my” (before a noun)

  • o meu livro

👉 Special case:

  • comigo (not com mim)

Q: Why is it o cão agressivo and NOT aggressivo?
Although this is a cognate with English, spelling differs:

  • Portuguese does not double consonants like English

  • agressivo (not aggressivo)

👉 Many cognates follow this pattern:

  • interessante (not interesting)

  • profissional (double s, but not double g, etc.)

Q: Why is it chama-se Jorge and NOT llama-se Jorge?
Portuguese uses specific digraphs:

  • ch → “sh” sound

  • lh → like Spanish ll

  • nh → like Spanish ñ

👉 So:

  • chamar → chama-se Jorge

🔑 Key points

  • mim after prepositions (but comigo special form)

  • Fewer double consonants than English

  • Portuguese uses digraphs (ch, lh, nh) instead of Spanish patterns

Exercises

Find the mispelled word and write it correctly in the box:

Charles não estudado para o exame. (tem / tê)
É necessário um para viajar. (passaporte / passaporto)
Há um grande . (problema / problemo)

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Choose the correct word:

Quero tomar um (cha/chá).
Vens ao concerto comigo (tu/teu).
O outono é quando há (casa/caça).

Tags: Elision captialization days of the week nouns
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