As mentioned above, use the verb ser to talk about place of origin, such as your nationality. Here is a sample dialogue.

Q: De onde você é? (Where are you from?)

A: Sou dos Estados Unidos. (I am from the United States.)

Q: Então, você é americana? (So, you are American?)

A: Sim, sou americana! (Yes, I'm American!)

Q: Muito prazer! (Nice to meet you!)

What follows is a list of some nationalities in Portuguese. The first form is the masculine, followed by the feminine form. If only one form is listed, the adjective can be used for both masculine and feminine referents.

TRACK 28

Countries and Nationalities

You can use these forms as an adjective; for example, Ele é um médico japonês (He is a Japanese doctor), or as a noun, as in Ele é japonês (He is Japanese). As far as the plural of these forms goes, most of the time you will use the masculine and add an — s at the end, so americano > americanos, and canadense > canadenses. Feminine plural forms do exist, but only with the adjectives that end in — o in the masculine singular, which changes to — as, as in americano > americanas.

Exercise: Name the Nationalities

Now let's practice with an exercise. Indicate the nationalities of the following people. Check your answers in Appendix C.

• Stefi Graff é de Berlim. Ela é______________________.

• Pelé é de São Paulo, Brasil. Ele é______________________.

• O senhor Putin e a senhora Stakhnevich são de Moscou Eles são______________________.

• Sofia Loren e Marcelo Mastroiani são de Roma. Eles são______________________.

• O senhor Takenaka é de Tóquio. Ele é______________________.