The main function of the tongue and the Communication. Language is the instrument we use to interact with other people, whether in writing or speaking. One of the tools that provide interaction between speakers is the grammar of a language. You know why? Grammatical rules allow the standardization of the language for all speakers, which allows understanding between them, regardless of possible regional or cultural variations.
There are countless grammatical rules in the Portuguese language and, unfortunately, there are several mistakes that we make in our daily lives. We are well aware that the deviations we commit in speech often do not compromise communication with the other, however, in writing, errors they can harm the interaction between speakers, in addition to attesting that we do not have control over the standard variety of our mother tongue.
One of the spaces in which our writing is evaluated, so that we can always keep improving, is the writing. With this in mind, Escola Kids brought together five common Portuguese mistakes and how to avoid them in writing. Of course, these tips will be very useful to better express themselves in speech, but our team's intention is not to let you make these mistakes when writing a text. Come on?
Mistake 1: Use of the comma – find out which use cases of the comma we make the most deviations when writing an essay.
→ the comma cannot separate the subject from the predicate:
Examples:
Right: "Maria said she wouldn't."
Wrong: "Mary, she said she wouldn't."
→ the comma cannot be used to separate the main clause from a substantive subordinate clause:
Examples:
Right: "I believe Mary will not come."
Wrong: "I believe that Mary will not come."
→ coordinated clauses are separated by commas, even additive clauses in which the “and” separates clauses with different subjects:
Examples:
Right: "Maria was late, spoke to Alice, and Pedro didn't say anything."
Wrong: "Maria arrived late, she spoke to Alice and Pedro didn't say anything."
→ the adverbial adjuncts displaced and long must be separated by a comma or enclosed in commas.
Examples:
Right: "Maria, when talking about her mother at the celebration, she was moved."
Wrong: "Maria when talking about her mother at the celebration, she was moved."
Right: "On Monday afternoon, the deputies announced the new law."
Wrong: "On Monday afternoon the deputies announced the new project."
Important note: if the sentence is in direct order and the adverbial adjunct is short, the comma will be optional.
Examples:
direct order
Deputies announced the new project on Monday afternoon.
Deputies announced the new project, on Monday afternoon.
short adverbial adjunct
Yesterday two representatives were elected. (short adverbial adjunct)
Yesterday, two representatives were elected.
→ in adverbial subordinate clauses, if they are preceded or interspersed with the main clauses, the comma is mandatory:
Examples:
Right: "Since metropolis traffic is chaos, people need alternative means of transportation."
Wrong: "Since metropolis traffic is chaos, people need alternative means of transportation."
Right: "People, since metropolis traffic is chaos, need alternative means of transportation."
Wrong: "People, since metropolis traffic is chaos, need alternative means of transportation."
Mistake 2: Use of the verb Haver
→ The verb “haver” is not very common in speech, so there is some difficulty in using it correctly in writing. “Haver”, in the sense of occurring or existing, is impersonal, that is, it will remain in the third person singular, as it has no subject. Thus, when we use the verb “haver” in the sense of “occur” or “exist”, we cannot inflect it in number and person.
Examples:
Right: "There will be changes in government."
Wrong: "There will be changes in government."
Mistake 3: Use of the back letter
→ The bass accent indicating a crasis is the fusion of the preposition “a” with the article “a”. Only when there is a combination of the identical vowels, “a” article and “a” preposition, will we use the crase.
Examples:
→ the crasis should only be used in front of feminine words;
Right: "Marcela told him she didn't like the food."
Wrong: "Marcela told him she didn't like the food."
→ the backquote must be used in expressions that indicate time;
Right: “If you come, for example, at four in the afternoon...” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Wrong: "If you come, for example, at four in the afternoon..."
→ the crasis should be used in adverbial phrases formed by feminine words;
Right: "Sometimes it won't work."
Wrong: "Sometimes it won't work."
Mistake 4: Me vs. Me
→ “Me”, an oblique personal pronoun, will be used when performing the function of complementing a sentence. Another aspect that will define whether we should use "me" is the existence of prepositions (andbetween, against, upon, to, by, without, over, from, into, before, until) in the sentence.
The pronoun “I”, in the case of the impasse “me X eu”, should be used only when performing the function of subject.
Examples:
Right: "Maria, can you buy the books for me?"
Wrong: "Maria, can you buy the books for me?"
Right: "I'm just going to finish my journey."
Wrong: "It's a little while away for me to finish my journey."
Mistake 5: But x More
→ Perhaps this is one of the most common mistakes, because, in speech, the pronunciation is very similar, but, in writing, this is one of the cases in which improper use can completely change the meaning of the sentence. “But” should be used when the idea of opposition and contrariety is the intention. “More”, on the other hand, should be used as an adverb of intensity.
Examples:
Right: "The public school teachers work a lot, but receive little in Brazil."
Wrong: "The public school teachers work a lot, but they receive little in Brazil."
Right: "This is the most complicated government I've ever seen."
Wrong: "This is the most complicated government I've ever seen."
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson related to the subject:
