The Bottom Line
Straightforward and clear, EasyPortuguese.com lives up to its name with file sounds, useful expressions and vocabulary that provide the traveler to Brazil with a free introduction to the Portuguese.
- Simple explanations of essential grammar
- Lots of vocabulary listings with sound files
- Glossaries and quizzes
- Free
- Minor cons such as no sound files for feminine nationalities
Description
- Grammar is accurate.
- Sound files feature clear pronunciation.
- Expressions are useful for travelers.
- The site has links to Portuguese teachers, learning materials and other relevant websites.
Guide Review - EasyPortuguese.com - A Free Online Portuguese Tutorial
EasyPortuguese.com is like an encouraging nudge to curious travelers who want to arrive in Brazil dropping a few well-pronounced words and expressions here and there.
I like its simple explanations of tricky elements of Portuguese, such as the ser and estar, the two verbs used for "to be".
Beginners will enjoy the plentiful vocabulary lists with sound files and the appropriate feminine or masculine articles that go with each word, a useful reference source to this most baffling aspect of Latin-derived languages - is a tree feminine or masculine in Portuguese? (Feminine. In Spanish, masculine.)
In Nationalities, it might be nice to have the sound file of the feminine form, just to make it clear that the sound of the final [s] in words such as japonês changes to a z sound in the feminine form, so japonesa is pronounced "ja-po-NE-za".
I'd also add that in Family, just as papai and mamãe are the Portuguese words for "mom" and "dad", or even "mommy" and "daddy", vovô and vovó are the equivalent to grandpa and grandma.
For some vocabulary practice, there are dictionaries and quizzes in Excel for several word families - business, food and others.
The quizzes present a word in English in A, which you should type in Portuguese in B. Click on C and you get Certo or Errado (right or wrong). In D, you get the correct form if you made a mistake. Note that words without an acento - ^ or ~, for example, will score wrong. So use your keyboard:
- Til (as in ã): Press Control + ~, then the letter under it.
- Acento circunflexo (as in ô): Press Control + Shift + ^, then the letter.
- Acento agudo (as in é): Press Control + ´ before the letter.
- Acento grave (as in à): Press Control + Shift + `, then the letter.
- C- Cedilha (ç): Press Control + comma, then C.
