Welcome to Unit 5 — shopping! Today we head to a classic Rio 'feira' (open-air street market), a Saturday morning ritual for millions of cariocas. You'll learn to name fruits, vegetables, and staples, plus two essential irregular verbs: 'fazer' (to do/make) and 'poder' (can). By the end, you'll be able to greet a vendor, ask about produce, and request permission to do things politely. Bora lá!
Learning tips
- At the feira, vendors use 'fazer' to talk prices — 'Faço por 10 reais' means 'I'll sell it at 10 reais'. It's part greeting, part gentle negotiation.
- 'Posso?' (Can I?) is your politeness superpower at the market — 'Posso provar?' (Can I taste?), 'Posso pesar?' (Can I weigh?).
- Brazilians love diminutives: 'docinho' (a little sweet / nicely sweet), 'fresquinho' (nice and fresh) — warm, affectionate speech you'll hear constantly at the feira.
- Greet with 'Bom dia!' before asking anything. Skipping the greeting feels cold to Brazilians, especially at a street market.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| o centro | the downtown |
| o bairro | the neighborhood |
| o museu | the museum |
| o morro | the hill |
| o mercado | the market |
| visitar | to visit |
| conhecer | to get to know |
| tem | there is / there are |
| muitos | many |
| alguns | some |
Dialog
Beatriz and Thiago hit up the Feira do Lavradio in Lapa, one of Rio's most famous Saturday markets. Watch how the vendor ('feirante' in Portuguese) uses 'fazer' to talk about prices ('faço por cinco reais') and how polite requests with 'poder' grease the whole interaction. Notice the warm, affectionate Brazilian address: 'querida' (dear), 'Seu Carlos' (Mr. Carlos).
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| comprar | /kõˈpɾaʁ/ | to buy | Regular -ar verb |
| a fruta | /a ˈfɾu.tɐ/ | the fruit | Feminine noun |
| a verdura | /a veʁˈdu.ɾɐ/ | the vegetable (leafy / green) | Feminine — 'verdura' covers leafy greens; 'legume' is used for other vegetables |
| a batata | /a baˈta.tɐ/ | the potato | Brazilians eat potato fries, mash, and salads — everywhere |
| a banana | /a baˈnɐ.nɐ/ | the banana | Brazil grows dozens of banana varieties |
| o tomate | /u toˈma.tʃi/ | the tomato | Masculine in Portuguese (unlike Spanish!) |
| a cebola | /a seˈbo.lɐ/ | the onion | Essential in Brazilian cooking |
| o arroz | /u aˈʁojs/ | the rice | The other half of Brazil's national meal (arroz e feijão) |
| fresco | /ˈfɾes.ku/ | fresh | Agrees: fresco / fresca. Produce arrives at dawn |
| maduro | /maˈdu.ɾu/ | ripe | Agrees: maduro / madura |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| a maçã | /a maˈsɐ̃/ | the apple | Note the nasal -ã ending: /maˈsɐ̃/ |
| a laranja | /a laˈɾɐ̃.ʒɐ/ | the orange | Same word as the fruit and the color |
| o alface | /u awˈfa.si/ | the lettuce | Masculine despite ending in -e |
| o alho | /u ˈa.ʎu/ | the garlic | The 'lh' sounds like 'ly' in 'million' |
| a cenoura | /a seˈnow.ɾɐ/ | the carrot | Feminine — 'a cenoura' |
| orgânico | /oʁˈɡɐ.ni.ku/ | organic | Agrees: orgânico / orgânica |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| na feira | at the street market |
| quanto faz o quilo? | how much is a kilo? (lit. 'how much does the kilo do?') |
Grammar: Present tense of 'fazer' (to do/make) and 'poder' (can) — two key irregular verbs
| Pronome | Fazer (presente) | Poder (presente) |
|---|---|---|
| Eu | faço | posso |
| Você / Ele / Ela | faz | pode |
| Nós / A gente | fazemos / faz | podemos / pode |
| Vocês / Eles / Elas | fazem | podem |
'Fazer' na feira: Vendedores brasileiros usam 'fazer' para falar de preços — 'Faço por 5 reais' = 'I'll do it for 5 reais' (I'll sell it at that price). Também: 'Quanto faz o quilo?' (How much is the kilo?).
'Poder' para pedir permissão: 'Posso pesar?' (Can I weigh it?), 'Pode me dar...?' (Can you give me...?). É a forma mais educada de pedir algo.
Exemplos da feira:
- Eu faço uma salada. (I'm making a salad.)
- O feirante faz um bom preço. (The vendor makes a good price.)
- Nós podemos comprar mais fruta. (We can buy more fruit.)
- Eles podem escolher. (They can choose.)
Today you meet two irregular verbs that you'll use constantly: 'fazer' (to do/make) and 'poder' (can/to be able to).
Fazer — present tense:
| Pronoun | Fazer |
|---|---|
| eu | faço |
| você / ele / ela | faz |
| nós / a gente | fazemos / faz |
| vocês / eles / elas | fazem |
At the market, 'fazer' has a special use: talking about prices. When a vendor says 'Eu faço por 10 reais', they mean 'I'll do it for 10 reais' — a soft way to state the price, almost inviting negotiation. You can also ask 'Quanto faz o quilo?' (How much is a kilo?) — another Rio-feira classic.
Poder — present tense:
| Pronoun | Poder |
|---|---|
| eu | posso |
| você / ele / ela | pode |
| nós / a gente | podemos / pode |
| vocês / eles / elas | podem |
'Poder' is your politeness superpower. Instead of barking orders, Brazilians ask with 'poder':
- 'Pode me dar dois tomates, por favor?' (Can you give me two tomatoes, please?)
- 'Posso pesar?' (Can I weigh it?)
- 'Podemos provar?' (Can we taste?)
Both verbs are irregular in the 'eu' form — memorize 'eu faço' and 'eu posso' early. Everything else follows predictable patterns.
Light haggling at the feira: It's not expected the way it is at some tourist markets — prices are usually fair. But near the end of the market, vendors often lower prices on produce that won't keep until next week. A polite 'faz um desconto?' (can you give a discount?) sometimes works on large purchases.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the right form of 'fazer', 'poder', or a vocabulary word.
- Eu uma salada com tomate e cebola. (fazer)(fazer — eu form)
- Você pesar a banana, por favor? (poder)(poder — você form)
- Nós comprar fruta na feira. (poder)(poder — nós form)
- O tomate está bem , vermelho e doce.(ripe — masc.)
- Os feirantes bons preços no sábado. (fazer)(fazer — eles form)
Grammar Application
Conjugate the verbs 'fazer' and 'poder' for each pronoun.
- Conjugue 'fazer' com 'eu': (irregular eu form of fazer)
- Conjugue 'poder' com 'nós': (poder with nós)
- Conjugue 'fazer' com 'eles': (fazer with eles — ends in -em)
- Conjugue 'poder' com 'você': (poder with você — same as 3rd-person singular)
- Peça permissão para provar a fruta: provar?(how to politely ask for permission — eu form of poder)
Translation (English → Portuguese)
Translate each sentence into Brazilian Portuguese.
- I want to buy fresh fruit.
- Can I weigh the onion?
- The tomato is very ripe.
- We make a salad with vegetables.
- How much is the kilo of potato?
Creative Construction
Write a short feira dialogue using 'fazer' or 'poder', plus at least 3 produce words.
Takeaway
Two new irregular verbs: 'fazer' (faço, faz, fazemos, fazem) and 'poder' (posso, pode, podemos, podem). At the feira, 'fazer' talks about prices ('faço por 5 reais') and 'poder' asks politely ('posso pesar?'). Produce vocab unlocks your first full market conversation.