What are they?

In English, we often use two nouns together to name something.
The first noun describes or gives more information about the second noun — it works like an adjective.

Example:

• chocolate cake = a cake made with chocolate
• car key = a key for a car

Word Order Difference

In Portuguese, we usually say:

X de Y → bolo de chocolate

In English, we flip the order:

Y + X → chocolate cake

Think of it as “turning the phrase around.”

Examples by Category

Important Notes

✅ The first noun is usually singular, even when it refers to something plural:

• a shoe store (not shoes store)

✅ If we use nouns that are always used in plural forms (such as shoes, glasses, gloves, etc.) as a modifier for another noun, we have to use them in the singular form:

• His shoe size is 44.

Shoe is a singular form of the normally plural word shoes used to modify the noun size.

✅ Sometimes two nouns become a compound noun — a single concept that can be written as:

• one word (toothbrush, toothpaste, bedroom, policeman)
• two separate words (coffee cup, police station)
• or hyphenated (mother-in-law, check-in, 15-year-old boy)

There’s no fixed rule for which form to use — it’s based on common usage.
👉 When in doubt, check a dictionary to see if it’s one word, two words, or hyphenated.

Common Mistakes for Portuguese Speakers

salad potato ❌
potato salad ✅

cup wine ❌
wine cup or wine glass ✅

The first noun always comes before the main noun and without “of”.
We only use “of” for possession or abstract ideas (the color of the sky, a friend of mine).

Press play and reinforce your learning!

Practice Time ✏️

A. Flip it!
Change from Portuguese-style order to English-style order:

1. copo de água → ___________
2. sapato de couro → ___________
3. bolo de cenoura → ___________
4. reunião de equipe → ___________
5. história de amor → ___________

Answers:

1. water glass
2. leather shoes
3. carrot cake
4. team meeting
5. love story

B. Complete the sentences:

1. I need my ________ keys. (car)
2. She’s wearing a beautiful ________ dress. (summer)
3. We stayed in a small ________ house. (beach)
4. This is my favorite ________ shop. (coffee)
5. He bought a new ________ phone. (cell)

Answers:

1. car keys
2. summer dress
3. beach house
4. coffee shop
5. cell phone

Quick Recap

💡 Tip for Learners

Try noticing these combinations when reading or listening to English — they’re everywhere!
Example: bus stop, flower shop, baby food, school bag, mountain view, etc.

Do you know this famous line?

“To be, or not to be – that is the question.”
It’s from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The verb to be is one of the most important verbs in English. In this lesson, we’ll learn how to use it to talk about ourselves and other people.

👤 Talking about yourself

• I am → I’m
  This is the short form, and it’s very common in spoken English.

• Hi, I’m Fred. → Fred is introducing himself.

👥 Talking about others

• you are → you’re
  • You’re Jennifer, right?
• she is → she’s
  • How’s Julia? – She’s good!
• he is → he’s
  • He’s James.
• it is → it’s
  • It’s a bee. 🐝

📌 Use he for a man, she for a woman, and it for an object or an animal (when we don’t know or don’t need to mention gender).

👨‍👩‍👧 Talking about groups

• we are → we’re
  • We’re friends.
• they are → they’re
  • They’re teachers.

👉 Tip: We use they when we talk about a group of people, and also when we don’t know someone’s gender.

💡 Extra Tip

We can ask “How are you?” when talking to one person or to many people.

• You (singular) → How are you?
• You (plural) → How are you all? / How are you guys?

The verb are doesn’t change.

📊 Summary Table

🚀 For Extra Practice

Practice saying these aloud:

• Introduce yourself: “Hi, I’m …”
• Point to a friend: “He’s … / She’s …”
• Describe something near you: “It’s …”
• Talk about a group: “We’re … / They’re …”

In the next step, you’ll also learn negatives (I’m not, you aren’t, she isn’t…) and questions (Am I…? Is he…? Are they…?).

✏️ Exercises – Verb To Be

1) Complete with the correct form of to be (am / is / are):

a) I ___ a student.
b) She ___ my best friend.
c) They ___ very happy today.
d) We ___ in the classroom.
e) He ___ from Brazil.

2) Rewrite using the short forms:

a) I am tired. → ____________
b) She is at the park. → ____________
c) We are ready. → ____________
d) He is my brother. → ____________
e) They are teachers. → ____________

3) Make the sentences negative:

a) I’m from Canada. → ____________
b) She’s here. → ____________
c) They’re students. → ____________
d) We’re late. → ____________
e) It’s a dog. → ____________

4) Ask questions with to be:

a) you / tired → ____________ ?
b) she / your teacher → ____________ ?
c) they / at school → ____________ ?
d) he / ready → ____________ ?
e) it / your book → ____________ ?

5) Translate into English:

a) Eu sou feliz.
b) Ela é minha amiga.
c) Nós estamos em casa.
d) Eles são médicos.
e) Está frio.

✅ Answer Key – Verb To Be

1) Complete with the correct form of to be:

a) I am a student.
b) She is my best friend.
c) They are very happy today.
d) We are in the classroom.
e) He is from Brazil.

2) Rewrite using the short forms:

a) I am tired. → I’m tired.
b) She is at the park. → She’s at the park.
c) We are ready. → We’re ready.
d) He is my brother. → He’s my brother.
e) They are teachers. → They’re teachers.

3) Make the sentences negative:

a) I’m from Canada. → I’m not from Canada.
b) She’s here. → She isn’t here. / She’s not here.
c) They’re students. → They aren’t students. / They’re not students.
d) We’re late. → We aren’t late. / We’re not late.
e) It’s a dog. → It isn’t a dog. / It’s not a dog.

4) Ask questions with to be:

a) you / tired → Are you tired?
b) she / your teacher → Is she your teacher?
c) they / at school → Are they at school?
d) he / ready → Is he ready?
e) it / your book → Is it your book?

5) Translate into English:

a) Eu sou feliz. → I’m happy.
b) Ela é minha amiga. → She’s my friend.
c) Nós estamos em casa. → We’re at home.
d) Eles são médicos. → They’re doctors.
e) Está frio. → It’s cold.

Now test how well you can use the verb to be.