The Portuguese language is full of rules, isn't it? You probably already know why it is important to know them, as understanding how the language works helps a lot in communication, whether in written or oral mode. Better than just memorizing these rules, it's understanding them, and for that, Escola Kids has prepared simple Portuguese tips that can make all the difference in your daily life.
Today's topic is back. This is certainly one of the topics in our grammar that most raise questions among speakers, who always ask themselves when to use or not to use the grave accent. It is important that you know, before we proceed with our study, that crasis is actually the name of a phenomenon that fuses the preposition “a” with the feminine article “a”. In these cases, what should be called the grave accent ( ` ).
Now that you know this important information, stay tuned for the explanation and good studies!
The crasis should not be used before masculine nouns nor before the relative pronouns that, who, whose, whose, whose, whose
☺ Use the backrest accent only in front of feminine words:Perhaps this is the most important tip, the one that will avoid gross grammatical errors. Remember that the crasis is the fusion of the preposition “a” with the feminine article “a”, so it will not occur in front of masculine words. If even so that annoying doubt arises when writing, replace the feminine word with a masculine one: if the “a” becomes “ao”, it should receive the grave accent. See just a few examples:
students gothe schoolto study → students go to school to study.
the family was the fair buy fruits and vegetables → the family was to supermarket buy fruits and vegetables.
☺ Before expressions that indicate time, use the crasis: Before phrases indicative of hours, you should use the bass accent indicative of the backquote. Look at the examples:
the party will start at 9 pm.
they arrived from a trip at 13h.
However, if there are prepositions different from the preposition "a", such as from, to and to, the crasis will not occur, therefore, the use of the grave accent is prohibited. Look:
Parents are waiting for their children to leave since at 1pm.
Scheduled the meeting for at 9 pm.
Until at 23h I decide if I travel or not.
☺ Use the backquote before the expressions "in the manner of" and "as": The expression "in the fashion of", sometimes, is implied in the context of the sentence, but even so the grave accent indicating a crasis must be used, even if after it comes a masculine word. See the examples:
he kicked at goalàSkin → he kicked at goal in the fashion of Skin.
As time passes, the more I like you.
☺ Never use the backquote before male words: You saw in the previous example that only in the use of the expression “in the manner of” with the occurrence of a masculine noun following the crase will be admitted. Once this possibility is excluded, do not use it. See the examples:
we talk about of the problem to the mayor.
He was on foot to college.
the accused was the jury popular.
They traveled on board of a ship.
He had surgery laser.
☺ The crasis and relative pronouns: The crasis must occur only before the relative pronouns which and which, because they accept the use of the article when governed by a verb that requires the preposition “a”. Before relative pronouns who, who, whose, whose, whose, whose, never use the bass accent indicator. Watch:
are standards which all citizens must obey.
The student, to whom we delivered the award, passed the entrance exam.
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
