Unit 20 · Finding a homeA2Lesson 4 of 5: Repairs
Repairs at home in European Portuguese
This is lesson 4 of 5 in Unit 20, Finding a home (Arrendar casa), an A2 unit in which you find and rent a flat in Portugal: adverts and viewings, bills, repairs, neighbours and moving day. The new words are a torneira (tap), pingar (to drip), o canalizador (plumber) and 6 more, practised in 10 example sentences. Building on Bills, it gets you to sentences like Nós mandámos arranjar a janela (“We had the window fixed”). The unit’s grammar notes cover “Vamos mudar-nos: plans with ir” and “Precisar de: what you need to rent”.
Words in this lesson
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a torneira | tap |
pingar | to dripA torneira está a pingar. = The tap is dripping. |
o canalizadoralso a canalizadora | plumber |
o eletricistaalso a eletricista | electrician |
arranjar | to fixAlso "to get, to find": arranjar emprego = to find a job. |
mandar arranjar | to have fixedMandar + infinitive = to have something done by someone else. |
o esquentador | water heaterThe gas heater that gives you hot water in many Portuguese homes. |
a máquina de lavaralso a máquina de lavar roupa, a máquina da roupa | washing machine |
a humidade | dampA common problem in older Portuguese homes. Mould is o bolor. |
Example sentences
- A torneira da cozinha está a pingar.The kitchen tap is dripping.Estar a + infinitive for what is happening now: está a pingar.
- Eu vou chamar o canalizador.I'm going to call the plumber.
- O esquentador está avariado.The water heater is broken.
- Não há água quente.There's no hot water.Quente = hot. Fria = cold.
- O senhorio vai mandar arranjar o esquentador.The landlord is going to have the water heater fixed.Mandar arranjar = to have something fixed by someone else.
- Tu sabes arranjar a máquina de lavar?Do you know how to fix the washing machine?Saber + infinitive = to know how to do something.
- Nós mandámos arranjar a janela.We had the window fixed.In the past tense, mandámos has an accent in Portugal.
- Há humidade na casa de banho.There's damp in the bathroom.Portugal spells humidade with an h.
- A luz da sala não funciona.The living room light doesn't work.
- Quando é que o eletricista pode vir?When can the electrician come?
Grammar notes
The grammar notes for this lesson are on the page for Unit 20: Finding a home: