Introduction
After twenty lessons you have a foundation in Brazilian Portuguese: basic grammar, greetings, numbers, and simple verbs. Now comes the important step of checking what you actually know. This guide helps English-speaking beginners test comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing using practical exercises, realistic phrases, and clear explanations.
Why check your basics after 20 lessons?
Testing your skills early prevents gaps from becoming entrenched. By lesson 20 you should be able to handle everyday exchanges, understand basic written signs, and form simple sentences. Checking helps you identify pronunciation problems, grammar points to review, and vocabulary to expand.
What you should reasonably know by now
By lesson 20 a typical beginner can:
Understand and use greetings and farewells like olá, bom dia, boa tarde, boa noite, tchau.
Introduce themselves and ask basic questions: Como você se chama?, De onde você é?, Quantos anos você tem?.
Use present tense of regular verbs and a few irregulars: ser, estar, ter, ir.
Count and use numbers in simple contexts: um, dois, três… dez, vinte.
Handle simple transactions and requests: Quanto custa?, Onde fica o banheiro?, Eu quero um café..
Four quick self-check exercises
Use these short tasks to measure Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Each exercise includes example answers in Brazilian Portuguese.
Listening: short audio comprehension
Listen to a 30-second audio of a short dialogue or announcement. If you do not have audio, ask a partner to read the script naturally. The goal is to catch key information, not every word.
Sample audio script: Olá! Meu nome é Ana. Eu sou do Rio de Janeiro. Hoje eu vou comprar pão e leite. E você, de onde você é?
Questions to answer in English: Who is speaking? Where is she from? What will she buy?
Model answers: The speaker is Ana. She is from Rio de Janeiro. She will buy pão and leite.
Speaking: simple role-play
Practice a 1-minute role-play with a partner or record yourself. Use practical situations such as ordering coffee or asking for directions.
Role-play scenario: You are in a café in São Paulo. Greet the barista, order one coffee and ask if there is sugar.
Example phrases to use: Bom dia.
Eu quero um café, por favor.
Tem açúcar?
Self-check points: Is your greeting natural? Do you use por favor? Can you pronounce café and açúcar clearly? Can you respond to a simple reply like Sim, tem or Não, desculpe?
Reading: signs and short messages
Read five common signs or messages and write a one-sentence English summary of each. Use real-world phrases you might see in Brazil.
Suggested signs and phrases: Saída, Entrada, Proibido fumar, Fechado, Aberto.
Examples of short messages: Horário de funcionamento: 8h às 18h, Favor aguardar na fila.
Model summaries: Saída means exit. Proibido fumar means no smoking. Horário de funcionamento shows opening hours from 8 to 18.
Writing: basic message or form
Write a short message in Portuguese (2–4 sentences) such as asking to reschedule a meeting or leaving a note for a roommate. Keep it simple and practical.
Example message: Oi, Maria. Desculpa, preciso mudar nosso encontro para amanhã às 16h. Pode ser? Obrigado!
Self-check items: Did you use a greeting? Did you include time and a polite word like desculpa or por favor? Is the verb conjugation correct for present or near future?
Key vocabulary and phrases to review
Checklist: know these high-frequency words and expressions. Practice pronunciation and usage in short sentences.
olá — hello. Example: Olá, tudo bem?
tudo bem — how are you / everything good. Example: Tudo bem com você?
por favor — please. Example: Uma água, por favor.
obrigado / obrigada — thank you (male/female speaker). Example: Obrigado pela ajuda.
desculpa — sorry / excuse me. Example: Desculpa, eu não entendi.
onde — where. Example: Onde fica a estação?
quanto custa — how much does it cost. Example: Quanto custa este livro?
banheiro — bathroom. Example: Onde é o banheiro?
Common grammar points to verify
Focus on the following structures; gaps here create repeated errors later.
Present simple for regular verbs: eu falo, você fala, nós falamos. Check subject-verb agreement with pronouns.
Basic irregular verbs: ser (eu sou, você é), estar (eu estou, você está), ter (eu tenho, você tem), ir (eu vou, você vai).
Definite and indefinite articles: o, a, os, as, um, uma. Example: O carro, Uma casa.
Simple negation: não before the verb. Example: Eu não entendo.
Basic question forms: invert or use question words. Example: Você vem? or Onde você mora?
Pronunciation pitfalls for English speakers
Watch these common sounds early on to avoid fossilized mistakes.
Stress and nasal vowels: Final -ão as in pão sounds nasal. Practice minimal pairs like ano vs ão by listening and repeating.
S vs Z: voiced versus voiceless. Casa uses a z sound for s between vowels. Practice with pássaro and casas.
Cedilla and soft c: c before e/i sounds like s: cidade, cinco. Elsewhere it sounds like k: casa.
Sample self-test: 20-minute checklist
Use this timed test to evaluate your current level quickly. No dictionaries or translators—only a notebook and a timer.
Minute 0–3: Warm-up. Say aloud your name, where you are from, and what you like to eat using simple Portuguese sentences.
Minute 4–8: Listening. Have a friend read a short paragraph or play an audio. Write three facts you understood in English.
Minute 9–12: Vocabulary. Translate five common words from Portuguese to English and five from English to Portuguese using household items and actions.
Minute 13–16: Grammar. Conjugate one regular -ar verb, one regular -er verb, and one irregular verb ser in present tense for eu and você.
Minute 17–20: Writing. Write a short message in Portuguese (3–4 sentences) asking for directions or confirming a meeting time.
Scoring guide and interpretation
Give yourself 0–2 points per task depending on accuracy.
16–20 points: Solid beginner. You can build on fluency and expand vocabulary with dialogues and listening practice.
10–15 points: Partial mastery. Identify weak areas—pronunciation, irregular verbs, or listening—and target them.
0–9 points: Review fundamentals: present tense verbs, essential vocabulary, and simple sentences. Revisit early lessons and do more spoken practice.
Practical tips to improve after checking
Targeted corrections beat generic practice. Use the results of your self-check to choose focused activities.
If listening was weak: listen to short podcasts for learners, slow voice news, or Brazilian music with lyrics. Practice shadowing (repeat immediately after the speaker).
If pronunciation was weak: record yourself saying common phrases and compare to native audio. Practice difficult sounds five minutes a day.
If grammar was weak: create 10 simple sentences using one verb each day, focusing on conjugation patterns and agreement.
If vocabulary was weak: carry a small list of 20 high-frequency words and use them in sentences for a week. Label objects at home in Portuguese.
Realistic practice scenarios to repeat
Short, repeatable interactions help cement basics.
At a cafe: Greet, order, ask price, thank. Example: Bom dia. Eu quero um café e um pão, por favor. Quanto fica?
At a store: Ask for size, color, and pay. Example: Você tem essa camisa no tamanho M? Tem em azul?
On public transit: Ask route and time. Example: Este ônibus vai para a Avenida Paulista? Quanto tempo até lá?
Common beginner mistakes to watch for
These errors are frequent but easy to fix once you know them.
Overusing literal English word order. Portuguese often places adjectives after nouns: casa bonita, not bonita casa.
Mixing ser and estar. Use ser for permanent traits and identity: Eu sou brasileiro. Use estar for temporary states and locations: Eu estou cansado.
Forgetting gender agreement. Match articles and adjectives to the noun: uma mesa pequena, not um mesa pequena.
Omitting articles in Portuguese where English doesn’t use them. Natural Portuguese often uses articles before names or nouns: O João chegou, Eu gosto do café.
Resources to reinforce your check
Choose one resource for each weak area you found in the self-test and use it for a week.
Listening: beginner Portuguese podcasts or slow news like News in Slow Portuguese for Brasilian Portuguese learners.
Speaking: language exchange apps or short paid lessons with a tutor focusing on pronunciation and role-plays.
Reading: graded readers for beginners or simple Brazilian children’s stories with audio.
Writing: short daily journaling prompts in Portuguese; have a tutor correct them or use language correction tools that support Brazilian Portuguese.
Conclusion
After 20 lessons you should be able to handle basic interactions, but diagnosing strengths and weaknesses turns knowledge into usable skill. Use the listening, speaking, reading, and writing checks above, review targeted grammar and vocabulary, fix common pronunciation issues, and practice realistic scenarios. Consistent focused review after this early stage makes the next 20 lessons far more productive.
