A Brief Grammar of the Portuguese Language — John Casper Branner
You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : A brief grammar of the Portuguese language with exercises and vocabularies Author : John Casper Branner Release date : July 26, 2026 [eBook #79190] Language : English Original publication : New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1910 Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79190 Credits : the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) A BRIEF GRAMMAR OF THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE A BRIEF GRAMMAR OF THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE WITH EXERCISES AND VOCABULARIES BY JOHN C. BRANNER, Ph.D. , LL.D. Vice-President and Professor of Geology Leland Stanford Jr. University Sometime Geologist of the Commissão Geologica do Brazil and of the Serviço Geologico do Brazil NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1910 A BRIEF GRAMMAR OF THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE Copyright , 1910, BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PREFACE TO RICHARD CUTTS SHANNON PREFACE This little book has been prepared for the use of English-speaking students who wish to get a practical knowledge of the Portuguese language. The plan of Professor Edgren’s Brief Spanish Grammar has been followed, in many respects almost literally. Many Portuguese grammars have been consulted, but the ones most freely drawn from are the thirteenth edition of João Ribeiro’s Grammatica Portugueza , published at Rio de Janeiro in 1907, and the twenty-sixth edition of the Nova Grammatica Portugueza by Bento José de Oliveira, published at Coimbra in 1904. It is not claimed that there is much that is new or original in the work. The author has simply endeavored to follow the best Portuguese grammarians, and his own observations and experience with the language, in an effort to make it readily accessible to English-speaking students and in as compact a form as possible. It has been kept in mind that such a work, in order to be useful, must keep practical points in view even at the expense of the erudite and more scholarly features of the language. The book is purely elementary; those who require a thorough knowledge of the philologic and philosophic features of the tongue should consult the more pretentious works. Near the end of the volume a few short examples are quoted from several of the best Portuguese authors. These examples are taken partly from Brazilian and partly from Portuguese writers. It may be well to say here that the idea one often hears expressed to the effect that the Portuguese of Brazil is not good Portuguese is altogether erroneous. It is true that one hears purely local terms and expressions in various parts of Brazil, [1] but so he does in Portugal and, for that matter, in all languages and in every other part of the world. The language used by the educated Brazilians is just as correct in the main as that used by the educated Portuguese. The difference between the Portuguese spoken in Brazil and that spoken in Portugal is similar to the difference between the English of North America and the English of England—one about which the foreigner need not seriously concern himself. Portuguese is a remarkably phonetic language, and one accustomed to the difficulties of the English, or even of the French, must be impressed with the comparative simplicity of its spelling. Examples of the chief orthographic difficulties are given at paragraph 13, pages 21-22. Those who are interested in this subject should consult the scholarly work of A. R. Gonçalves Viana entitled Ortografia Nacional , published at Lisbon in 1904. Of late years there has been some agitation in favor of orthographic reform, and the Brazilian Academy promulgated in 1907 certain rules which, if followed, would still further tend to simplify spelling. These rules, however, do not appear to have been taken seriously as yet. The Brazilian scholar who has given most careful and most practical attention to this matter of Portuguese spelling is Professor M. Said Ali, of Rio de Janeiro. He has published a Vocabulario orthographico in which rules for greater simplicity are laid down, and the words about which there is any question are all given. The spelling given by Professor Said Ali has been followed in the present work. In cases where two spellings have been or are used, cross-references are made in the vocabulary. The chief object of this book is to encourage and facilitate the study of the Portuguese language and literature by English-speaking people. It is not a little remarkable that the language has not been cultivated more by English and American scholars. [2] It is generally regarded as the most Latin of all the Latin tongues, and it certainly is a virile one, and has a “classic solemnity that distinguishes it from all other living languages.” [3] In addition, the literary, historical, and philological treasures of the Portuguese commend it to the thoughtful attention of scholars the world over, while the increasing commercial importance of Portuguese-speaking nations entitle it to respectful consideration and study for commercial, political, and diplomatic reasons. For many corrections and valuable suggestions the author gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to the able Brazilian historian, Capistrano de Abreu, and to the distinguished grammarian, Professor Said Ali, who have kindly read the manuscript. For any errors, oversights, or other shortcomings of the work, however, these gentlemen are in no way responsible. J. C. Branner. Stanford University, California. FOOTNOTES: [1] As an example see “Colleção de vocabulos e frases usados na Provincia de S. Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul” por Antonio Alvares Pereira Coruja. Revista do Instituto Historico e Geographico do Brazil , XV, 210-240. Rio de Janei