Discovering Brazil

Page 7

Discovering Brazil

In the case of flooding, a common occurrence in some regions, be aware of if your home or

work is located in a high flood area or near mountains or hills that are susceptible to mud

slides. For droughts, it is often common for the city or state to develop limitations to conserve

water and the cities resources. In either of these scenarios, the important thing is to remain

calm and take all necessary precautions.

Time Zones

Brazil uses four standard time zones. The main time zone is Brasília time, or BRT (UTC-03),

and all other time zones are an offset of BRT, ranging in time from UTC-02 through UTC-05.

Daylight Savings Time (DST)

Each Brazilian state is given the ability to determine whether or not it chooses to follow

daylight savings. Many regions in Brazil do follow the time change and lose an hour in

February, while gaining an hour in October. The time change tends to occur on a Sunday,

although the date may change each year.

Telling Time

Telling time in Portuguese is very similar to English. There are only a few exceptions and

some key phrases to know:



Time at the start of an hour:

Use the phrases,

São nove horas

em ponto

, meaning, “It is nine o’clock,” or “It is nine o’clock sharp.”



Time within the first 30 minutes:

Refer to the hour number first, and then the word

“e”, followed by the minute number. For example,

São nove

quinze.

“It is nine

fifteen.”



Time after the first 30 minutes:

Refer to the remaining time until the next hour

using the phrase, “para as.”

São quinze

para as

dez.

“It's fifteen to ten.”



For half hours:

Use the expression “e meia” in place of “and a half.”

São nove

meia

. “It is nine thirty.”



Midnight and midday in Portuguese:



É meia-noite

. “It is midnight”



É meio-dia

. “It is noon”



Using morning

(a.m.),

afternoon

(p.m.),

and night:

Use the expressions “da

manhã,” “da tarde” and “da noite” with specific time. For example,

A reunião começa

às 9:00

da manhã

“The meeting starts at nine a.m.”



When an event begins and ends

there are two structures:



“From (hour) to (hour)”, or “das (horas) às (horas)”.

A cerimônia será

das

10:00

às

11:00.

“The ceremony will be from 10 to 11.”



Or, “From (hour) until (hour)” the structure is “das (horas) até as (horas)”.

cerimônia será

das

10:00

até as

11:00

. “The ceremony will be from 10 until 11.”