Team meetings at work: Giving an update on your project

💬 The accent in acabámos marks the past "we finished"; without it, acabamos means "we finish". Also, em + a becomes na before days: na segunda-feira "on Monday".

💬 em + os becomes nos, so nos testes is "in the tests". Same for na and nas: na reunião "in the meeting".

💬 Há covers both "there is" and "there are", and never changes: há um problema, há dois problemas. The h is silent.

🇵🇹 Softening bad news with pequeno is typical in Portuguese meetings. Delays are often framed gently rather than stated bluntly.

💬 Faltar works backwards from English: the missing thing is the subject, and the person lacking it is nos "to us". Swap in Falta-me tempo "I'm short of time".

💬 de + o becomes do: do cliente. With a feminine word it's da: da empresa "from the company".

💬 After queres que, the verb shifts shape: falo "I talk" becomes fale. Same with Queres que eu envie? "Do you want me to send it?".

💬 ajudava literally looks like "was helping", but in everyday speech it often means "would help". Portuguese speakers use this form instead of the more formal ajudaria.

🇵🇹 Combinado is the everyday way to close an agreement at work, friendly but businesslike. It confirms who does what, like "deal" or "sounds good".

💬 Ligar takes lhe "to him/her/them": you call to someone in Portuguese. The present ligo also does the job of "I'll call" for near plans.

💬 a + a becomes à, so à tarde is "in the afternoon". Same pattern: à noite "at night", but de manhã "in the morning".

💬 Até means both "by" a deadline and "until", so context decides. Portuguese weekdays are numbered: segunda to sexta, with quinta being the fifth day.

💬 The plain "we" form passamos doubles as "let's" in meetings. Same with Começamos? "Shall we start?".

💬 a + o becomes ao: passar ao próximo ponto. With feminine words it's à: à próxima questão "to the next question".