Do you understand me? Oh, yes

The customs officer: Passport?

The customs officer: Any drugs, explosives or weapons?

Passenger: Yes

The customs officer: Any weapons?....Drugs? ......Explosives?

The customs officer: Hellooooo?

Passenger: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.

The customs officer: Sir, we have a problem. You don't understand me, do you?

Passenger: Yes!.

SUPERLATIVES - O absoluto.. o mais (ou menos) de todos..

Analogia com o comparative ER -  no superlative we employ EST:

The coldEST, the hottEST, the hardEST 

Examples:

1- São Joaquim and Lages, both in the Santa Catarina state are the coldEST cities in Brazil;

2- Finding a good hotel might the hardEST part about traveling on holidays;

3- The easiEST way to find a roommate is looking up* on the web not always the best*.

The MOST

The most difficult; 

Noronha is the most beautiful place I've ever visited in Brazil.

Math was the most boring subject in high school for me.

1- "The smallEST state of Brazil is Piauí"

2- "Pele is one of Brazil´s  most famous football  

      player"

3- "Lima Duarte is one of the best known* actors   

      on Brazilian tv"

*Know-knew- known : o verbo “saber”, “conhecer”: 

knew=sabia, conhecia; 

known = 'sabido', conhecido, 

well known. = bem conhecido

the best known = o mais conhecido 

Let's compare.....

Vamos continuar comparando, grande parte da vida é competição, então prossigamos ..

As____________ As = tão _________  quanto.

Car A is "as fast* as  car B" , podem ser "as comfortable as", ou  "as good as".

Examples:

1- "The flat I live now is not as big as the one I used to live, however it is much better located".

2- "Real life is not as perfect as it may seem on Facebook" 

3- "Today| the weather is not as cold as yesterday".

More examples:

1-We´ll get there faster if we go by taxi.

2-Speaking Mandarin is not as difficult as writing it.

3-Today is miserable.. I hope the weather  is better tomorrow.

Practice:

1- "In terms of size, MG is _______ than PA as far as the number  

      of people, it is more populated THAN PA."

2- "The regions near big cities are usually __________ than  

      small town, however they have a ______  life quality."

3-  Some people are _________________ than   others..

4-  Staying in a luxury resort  is usually ______________  than   

     staying in a guest house

5- Traveling abroad is a lot _________ if you can speak at least*   

     a bit of the local language.

6- You feel ____speaking in public if you know well the subject.

Answer Key:

More developed\ better\bigger\more friendly\ more expensive-costly\ easier\more confident

  

Comparatives...

Se  algo é "maior", "melhor" ou "mais interessante" , ele o é "do que ____", em relação `____, pois trata-se de uma comparação.

BIGGER  THAN=maior do que ..

Better than= melhor do que

O adjetivo “cold” pode ser usado para temperatura, Campos do Jordã is coldER than Presidente Prudente, comparing two cities. 

Small- SmallER  than ______

RJ is smallER than MG

“English is an easiER language to learn than Mandarin, for instance..”

“It´s bettER late than ever”  = melhor tarde do que nunca, o provérbio

· Good-better than__- the Best

· Bad-worse than ___ - the worst

What region in Brazil is hotter,  the “Nordeste” ou the south\southeast?

NE is hotter  ( than S\SE)

Observe que todos os adjetivos acima são palavras de uma sílaba ou duas, para palavras c mais de 02 syllables we use  the intensifier “more” before the Word.

More difficult than

More intelligent than..

This guy is more competent than the other.

What's more expensive, living in SP or in Natal.. ( do que em outro lugar. O “than” fica as implícito.. na resposta )

What kind of work do you consider more challenging, filing letters in a cabinet or a fireman.. * novamente o “than” fica impícito no context.

Brazilian Culture: Capoeira - a martial art that combines elements of dance and music

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music. It was developed in Brazil mainly by Africans beginning in the 16th century. It is known by quick and complex moves, using mainly power, speed and leverage for leg sweeps.* THE WORD CAPOEIRA PROBABLY COMES FROM THE Tupi LANGUAGE referring to the ares of low vegetation in the Brazilian interior.

Capoeira is believed to be connected with tribal fighting, called "Engolo", from the Benguela Highlands region of Angola. In many tribes in Africa a tradition exists where people  fight  each  other in order to acquire a bride or desired women. They fight without weapons, and are held inside a circle. 

In  the 6th century, Portugal had claimed one of the largest territories of the colonial empires, but lacked people to colonize it, especially workers. 
In the Brazilian colony, the Portuguese, like many other   European colonists, chose to use slavery to supply this shortage*** of workers.

In its first century the main economic activity in the colony was the production and processing of sugarcane. Portuguese used to create large sugarcane farms called "engenhos", which were dependent on the labor of enslaved workers. Slaves, living in   inhumane and humiliating conditions, were forced to work hard and often suffered physical punishment for any small    misbehavior. ****

Even though the slaves outnumbered***** the Portuguese colonists, the lack of  weapons, the colonial law, the disagreement between knowledge about the new land and its surroundings usually discouraged the idea of  a rebellion.

In this environment, capoeira was born not as a fighting style, but as a hope for survival. It was a hope of survival because they would say they were dancing when a colonist came along but really were practicing fighting and preparing to fight back.

A tool with which an escaped slave completely unequipped, could survive in the hostile, unknown land and face the hunt of the 'capitães do mato', the armed and mounted colonial agents who were in charge of finding and capturing escapees. Although unarmed and unequipped, once they had learnt how to fight they could break free. 

Word bank

*leg sweeps = rasteiras, "chinelas" ( o golpe)
**bride= noiva
***shortage=escassez, falta de
****misbehavior= má conduta, mau comportamento
***** to outnumber = estar em maior número
****** to be in charge of sth = estar encarregado de, reponsável por

Empire of Brazil

Conhecemos esta história, mas ela também fica bem interessante em inglês.... O período do Império Brasileiro

In 1808, the Portuguese court, fleeing*1 from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal during the Peninsular War in a large fleet*2 escorted*3 by British men-of-war, moved the government apparatus to its then colony, Brazil, establishing themselves the city of Rio de Janeiro. From there, the Portuguese king rules*4  his huge empire for 15 years, and there he would have remained*5 for the rest of his life, if it were not for the turmoil*6 aroused in Portugal due*7, among other reasons, to his long stay in Brazil after the end of Napoleon reign.

In 1815 the king vested Brazil with the dignity of a united kingdom with Portugal and Algarves. 

A reprodução do pintor Pedro Américo (abaixo) mostra o momento em que D. Pedro proclamou a Independência. Ainda que não tenha sido exatamente assim, foi um momento importante para todos....

When King João VI of Portugal left Brazil to return to Portugal in 1821, his elder son Pedro, stayed in his stead*8 as regent of Brazil. One year later, Pedro stated the reasons for the secession of Brazil from Portugal and led the Independence War, instituted a constitutional monarchy in Brazil assuming its head as Emperor Pedro I of Brazil.

Also known as Dom Pedro I, after his abdication in 1831 for political incompatibilities (displeased by both the landed elites, who thought him too liberal, and by the intellectuals, who felt he was not liberal enough), he  left for Portugal, leaving behind his five-year-son as Emperor Pedro II, which left the  country ruled by regents between 1831 and 1840. This period was beset*9 by rebellions of various motivations, such as the Sabinadas, the War of Farrapos, Cabanagem and Balaiadas, among others.

After this period, Pedro II was declared of age and assumed his full prerogatives. D. Pedro II started a more-or-less parliamentary reign which lasted until 1889, when he was ousted*10 by a coup d ´état*11 which instituted the Republic of Brazil. 

Word Bank:

*1 To flee= fugir, debandar

*2 A fleet= frota, carros, navios, camimnhões

*3 To Escort= acompanhar

*4 To rule= dar as ordens, regrar, comandar

*5 To remain = permanecer

*6 Turmoil= bagunça, devido a uma repercussão negativa

*7 Due to = devido à ..

*8 To do something  in  somebody´s stead  =  representar alguém, agir, fazer algo representando alguém,   no lugar de alguém

*9 Beset = marcado por

*10 Ousted = deposto

*11 Coup d`état = French for “golpe de estado”