Nominalization of Verbs in Portuguese

7 de November de 2013

What’s up, friends? Today’s Dica will teach us a bit about the nominalization of verbs in Portuguese and we’ll complete an exercise to practice what we’ve learned.

Nominalization of Verbs in Portuguese

First of all, what is the nominalization of verbs in Portuguese? It the process we use when we want to transform verbs into nouns.

Let’s look at a short list of verbs that can be transformed into nouns below:

Examples of nominalization of Verbs in Portuguese

Here we have the verbs and then the noun of each verb.

Partir – A partida To leave (depart) – Departure
Chegar – A chegada To arrive – Arrival
Empregar – O emprego To employ – Job (employment)
Trabalhar – O trabalho To work – Work
Proibir – A proibiΓ§Γ£o To ban (prohibit) – Prohibition
Permitir – A permissΓ£o To allow (permit) – Permission
Pintar – A pintura To paint – Painting
Discutir – A discussΓ£o To discuss – Discussion
Ver – A vista To see (view) – View
Estudar – OΒ estudo To study – Study
Β Jogar –Β O jogo To play –Β GameΒ 
Β Beijar – OΒ beijo To kiss –Β KissΒ 
Β Caminhar – AΒ caminhada To walk – WalkΒ 
Optar – A opΓ§Γ£o Β To choose (opt) – Option
Β Decidir – A decisΓ£o To decide – DecisionΒ 
Β Viajar – AΒ viagem To travel – Trip
Brincar – A brincadeira To play – JokeΒ 
Β EsforΓ§ar – O esforΓ§o Β To strive – Effort

Now, let’s see someΒ examples where we use the nouns replacing the verbs:

Examples of nouns replacing verbs

O aviΓ£o parte Γ s 21:45
A partida do aviΓ£o serΓ‘ Γ s 21:45.
The plane departs at 21:45.
The plane’s departure will be at 9:45 pm.
EstΓ‘vamos esperando vocΓͺ chegar.
EstΓ‘vamos todos esperando pela sua chegada.
We were all waiting for you to arrive.
We were all waiting for your arrival.
NΓ³s gostamos muito de trabalhar.
NΓ³s gostamos muito do nosso trabalho.
We like working very much.
We like our job very much.
Proibir cigarro em lugares fechados Γ© muito bom para a saΓΊde de todos.
A proibiΓ§Γ£o do cigarro em lugares fechados Γ© muito boa para a saΓΊde de todos.
Β  Prohibiting smoking in closed places is very good for everybody’s health.
The prohibitionΒ of smokingΒ in closed places is very good for everybody’s health.
O professor me permitiu sair da sala.
O professor me deu permissΓ£o para sair da sala.
The teacher allowedΒ me to leave the classroom.
The teacher gave me permission to leave the classroom.
Salvador DalΓ­ pinta muito bem.
Adorei aquela pintura de Salvador DalΓ­.
Β  Salvador DalΓ­ paints really well.
I loved that Salvador DalΓ­ painting.
Discutiram na empresa sobre os planos para o prΓ³ximo ano.
Houve uma discussΓ£oΒ na empresa sobre os planos para o prΓ³ximo ano.
Β  In the company they discussed the plans for next year.
There was a discussion in the company about the plans for next year.
O aluno curtiu muito ver a cidade no PΓ£o de AΓ§ΓΊcar.
O aluno curtiu muito a vista do PΓ£o de AΓ§ΓΊcar.
The student really enjoyed seeing the city from PΓ£o de AΓ§ΓΊcar.
The student really enjoyed the viewΒ from PΓ£o de AΓ§ΓΊcar.

Well, that’s it! Easy enough right?

Now it’s your turn!

Now it’s your turn to practice. Complete this exercise changing the sentences below to transform the verbs into nouns! Don’t be afraid to change the sentences, use your imagination!

  1. Estudar PortuguΓͺs Online me deixa muito feliz!
  2. Assim nΓ£o dΓ‘, vocΓͺ precisa se esforΓ§ar mais!
  3. Vamos caminhar na praia?
  4. Precisamos decidir: vamos comer pizza ou hambΓΊrguer?
  5. Assim que puder vou viajar.
  6. Ele Γ© um brincalhΓ£o! Todo dia ele brinca comigo.
  7. No Brasil Γ© comum as pessoas se beijarem na bochecha como cumprimento.
  8. Eles vΓ£o optar entre aula de PortuguΓͺs Online em grupo ou privada.

Now we can understand better how the nominalization of verbs happens in Portuguese.
We’ll be waiting for you in our next Dica!

Till then!
Rio & Learn send hugs for all of you!

Ler esta Dica em PortuguΓͺsΒ  Β Leer esta Dica en EspaΓ±ol
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Verbs ending in -ar in Present
Verbs ending in -ar in the Past
Regular verbs in -ER
Verbs in -Er in the simple past

 

Answers

  1. O estudo de PortuguΓͺs Online me deixaΒ muito feliz!
  2. Assim nΓ£o dΓ‘, vocΓͺ precisa de mais esforΓ§o!
  3. Vamos dar uma caminhadaΒ na praia?
  4. Precisamos de uma decisΓ£o: vamos comer pizza ou hambΓΊrguer?
  5. Assim que puder vou fazer uma viagem.
  6. Ele Γ© um brincalhΓ£o! Todo dia ele faz brincadeiras comigo.
  7. No Brasil Γ© comum as pessoas darem beijosΒ na bochecha como cumprimento.
  8. Eles tem duas opΓ§Γ΅es: aula de PortuguΓͺs Online em grupo ou privada.