Can handle most social situations while travelling in Portugal
Social register management
Vocabulary
Excuse me, can you help me? — Desculpe, pode ajudar-me?
Excuse me, can you help me find the metro?
Desculpe, pode ajudar-me a encontrar o metro?Pardon me — Com licença
, where is the train station?
Com licença, onde fica a estação de comboios?to talk about — falar sobre
I would like Portuguese culture.
Gostava de falar sobre a cultura portuguesa.the conversation was interesting — a conversa foi interessante
The conversation was very interesting, thank you.
A conversa foi muito interessante, obrigado.in my experience — na minha experiência
, Portuguese people are very friendly.
Na minha experiência, os portugueses são muito simpáticos.it depends on the circumstances — depende das circunstâncias
, but I usually help.
Depende das circunstâncias, mas normalmente ajudo.
Grammar
Polite request structures with modal verbs
Using 'poderia', 'gostaria de', 'pode' for polite requests beyond simple imperative
- Could you help me?
- I would like to know more.
Complex connectors: furthermore, however
Using connectors beyond and, but, because to structure extended speech
- Furthermore, Portuguese culture is very rich.
- However, sometimes it is difficult to find help.
Cultural notes
In British English, politeness is expressed through indirect questions and hedging. 'Would you mind helping me?' is more common than direct requests. 'Sorry to bother you' serves a similar function to Portuguese 'Desculpe'.