Time and number conventions

There are some differences between English and Portuguese when referring to time and numbers.

If you really want a headache try deciphering the following.

"As previously discussed, here are our estimates for the next financial year.
With an investment of 120,3 Mi and an initial return of 123.456 (123,456 mil) over the first week, there should be scope for expansion over the 1ª and 2ª quarters.  International investment calculated at current exchange rates (2,65) should not exceed 12% of initial investment.
Further information can be obtained during our next meeting on 5ª at 15h. "

Logic helps us in context, but many times single snippets of information can lead to confusion.

In English the following "120,3 Mi and an initial return of 123.456 (123,456 mil)" would be 120.3 M or Million and 123,456 (123.456 Thousand) respectively.

"1º and 2º quarters" would be 1st and 2nd quarters, while the exchange rate (2,65) would be (2.65)

And while a little simplistic here, "our next meeting on 5ª at 15h" would read Thu at 15:00.

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TIME

There are several different ways of using time in English.

The term o´clock is only used for whole hours from 1 to 12. One o´clock, 10 o´clock, 12 o´clock etc.
The labels ´AM´ and ´PM´ are used without the o´clock designation. 10 o´clock = ´10 am´ or ´10 pm´
 (not 10 o´clock am) 
The minutes - 5, 10, 20, 25 are used as in 5 past 10, 10 past 9, 20 past 2. 25 past 7, 25 to 8, 20 to 6, 10 to 12 and 5 to 1 etc.
The minutes - 15 are said as ´a quarter past 10´, ´a quarter to 12´ etc.
The minutes - 30 is only used as ´a half past 10´, ´a half past 2´etc
All minutes can be referred to as 3 minutes past * (5, the hour), 15 minutes past *, 22 minutes past *, 29 mintues past *, 30 minutes past * or 30 minutes to *, 29 minutes to # (6, the hour) (31 minutes past *), 16 minutes to # (44 minutes past *),  10 minutes to # (50 minutes past *) etc.

The twenty-four hour notation seems to be the most difficult method to understand, but is used by most military organizations and is favoured as a way of reducing confusion and removing the necessity of using ´AM´or ´PM´

Look at these examples;
00:25  -  zero twenty-five        
01:00  -  zero one hundred        uma hora
11:30  -  eleven thirty (hours)     onze horas e trinta minutos or onze e meia
13:43  -  thirteen forty-three       treze horas e quarenta e tres (minutos) 13horas e 43..
17:55  -  seventeen fifty-five       desessete horas e cinquenta e cinco (minutos) 17h e 55.
19:00  -  nineteen hundred         dezenove horas 19horas or 19h
23:59  -  twenty-three fifty-nine. vinte tres horas e cinquenta e nove (minutos) 23horas e 59

Notes
Sometimes the ´zero´ is replaced with ´oh´ as in 01:00 - oh one hundred (hours)
In English, we NEVER say 11:30 - eleven and thirty.

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NUMBERS

The most obvious number difference is probably the use of the comma and decimal point. In Brazil, the comma is used to separate the whole numbers from the decimals. The decimal point is no longer a decimal and separates thousands.

1.203 in Portuguese is actually one thousand two hundred and three. In English, it would be 1,203.

123,456 in Portuguese is actually one hundred and twenty-three, comma (decimal point) four hundred and fifty-six. In English, it would be 123.456 one hundred and twenty-three, point four, five, six.

Decimal notation in English is quite strict where the numbers after the decimal point are read individually unless they represent a number of objects such as in Money where we refer to pence or cents. R$12.34 would be twelve reais and thirty-four cents. 

A percentage, 12.34%, would be twelve point three four percent. In Portuguese, it is common for Brazilians to use 12,34%. twelve comma (virgula) thirty-four percent   

When using Ordinal numbers, English is quite clear in its usage. With 1st (first), 2nd (second), 3rd (third), 4th (fourth), 5th (fifth), 6th (sixth) and so on. 11th is Eleventh, 12 is twelfth, 13th is thirteenth 20th is twentieth while 21st (twenty-first) continues the sequence of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. Even when we get to larger numbers, it is the last number that determines the Ordinal notation.

Portuguese requires Ordinal notation on all parts of numbers not just the last number.

When written there is a unique symbol as is shown above. 1º, 2º and 5º are spoken as primeiro, segundo and quinto or 1ª, 2ª and 5ª are spoken as primeira, segunda and quinta. The feminine and masculine cases need to be respected. 

Where the cardinal numbers 21 twenty-one or vinte e um (in Portuguese) continue in their own relative sequences, 22, 23, 30, 33, 54, 121, 122, 130, 133, 154 etc, Ordinal numbers take on a very different face.

Cardinal                                                                     Ordinal 

  22  twenty two, vinte e dois                                     twenty second, vigésimo segundo

  23  twenty-three, vinte e três                                   twenty third, vigésimo terceiro

  30  thirty, trinta                                                       thirtieth, trigésimo

  33  thirty-three, trinta e três                                    thirty third, trigésimo terceiro

  34  thirty-four, trinta e quatro                                thirty fourth, trigésimo quarto 

121  one hudred and twenty-one, cento e vinte e um

        one hundred and twenty first, centésimo vigésimo primeiro 

122  one hundred and twenty two, cento e vinte e dois

        one hundred and twenty second, centésimo vigésimo segundo

130  one hundred and thirty, cento e trinta  

        one hundred and thirtieth, centesimo trigésimo

133  one hundred and thirty-three, cento e trinta e três

        one hundred and thirty third, centésimo trigésimo terceiro. 

154  one hundred and fifty-four, cento e cinquenta e quatro

        one hundred and fifty fourth, centésimo qinquagésimo ducentésimo trigésimo quarto

1,234,567 one million, two hundred and thirty-four thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven, um milhão, duzentos e trinta e quatro mil, quinhentos e sessenta e sete.  

          one million, two hundred and thirty-four thousand, five hundred and sixty-seventh,

Milionésimo ducentésimo trigésimo quarto milésimo quingentésimo sexagésimo sétimo

Special thanks to Marcelo Oshiro for his help in correcting and adding to the Portuguese ordinal numbers.
Thanks too to Lucio Olivier for some final touches

Concepts of culture

A long time ago, roughly 20 odds years, Brazil was deep in hyperinflation and it was very common for people to write "cheques pre-datado", pre-dated cheques.

Why are there so many inconsistencies in English

Consider where English has come from and how it is used today. Of all the languages in modern use today, English might easily be considered the most universal. The language is derived from the same common roots as many of today's languages.

Explaining TO and FOR

So, as promised, let's try to work out how to understand when to use TO and when to use FOR.

Before I begin, let's explain the role of the PREPOSITION. Some people suggest that the word itself expresses everything and that PREPOSITIONS are PRE Positioned words. To some extent that is true. But the most important role of the preposition is to establish the relationship of the subject to the object.

Consider the following sentences.
The book is ON the table.
The book is UNDER the table.
The book is BEHIND the table, and so on. 

Simply by changing the preposition in this sentence, we alter the relationship of the BOOK to the TABLE.

Prepositions are often single words (at, in, on), might contain 2 or more words (in front of, close to) , can be phrases made up of several words (to look forward to, get back to) and might be words with different grammatical uses( by 

pronounced bī/

preposition

1. 1.

   identifying the agent performing an action.
2. 2.

   indicating the means of achieving something.

   "malaria can be controlled by attacking the parasite"

adverb

1. 1.

   so as to go past.

   "a car flashed by on the other side of the road"

   synonyms:

   past, on, along "people hurried by"

noun

1. 1.

   variant spelling of bye¹.

). (This brief explanation of BY was supplied by GOOGLE search)

Many Prepositions establish position (in) or movement (into). (I will cover this in a future post)

In this post we will see what kind of PREPOSITION the words TO and FOR represent.

TO, as a preposition, HAS to be seen to represent DIRECTION and nothing else. Direction can be seen when TO is used with verbs in acts of exchange or transfer as well as when used in conjunction with VERBS that show action that includes movement.

We exchange Emails by SENDING TO, REPLYING TO and FORWARDING TO.
VERBS with an action that includes movement are, GO, TRAVEL, DRIVE, WALK, RUN, SWIM as well as many others of a similar type.

Also as a direction we see, The time is 5 TO ten (5 minutes going in the direction of 10 o'clock.). I work from 9am TO 5pm. (going from 9am (09:00) in the direction of 5pm (17:00), from smaller TO greater)

In special circumstances, TO is used in a comparative sense.  They won the game 4 TO 3 (sometimes expressed - We won the game 4-2. She is different TO me.(In this sentence the "different TO" is sometimes replaced with "different FROM" and "different THAN")

TO is also used in a different way. Sometimes referred to as a PREPOSITION, it is in fact used for the INFINITIVE VERB structure. TO speak, TO broadcast, TO write, TO watch etc. No other word can be used in place of TO when an infinitive structure is being used.

TO should really ONLY ever be used for these two purposes. (I would like TO speak TO you later. He has TO go TO the doctors. I want you TO send this Email TO her.  - as the TO infinitive or as the TO preposition, or as in these cases, it can be used in both positions as the infinitive and as the preposition..)

FOR, on the other hand, has several different meanings when used as a preposition.

1. FOR can be used as a reason and answers the question WHAT FOR or WHY. (Why do you want to go to a Spa? FOR my health.). Let's go out FOR a walk. (Expresses the reason for going out.)
2. FOR used to mean - on behalf of, or in place of. (Let me do that FOR you., Please send an Email FOR me.)
3. FOR helps to determine time duration. (I have been here FOR some time.)
4. FOR expresses intention or belonging. (I brought this FOR you)
5. FOR as a reason but before VERBS + ING.A Cell phone can be used FOR doing many different things. This folder is FOR keeping notes while this folder is FOR storing completed records.
6. Obscurely, FOR is seen in structures like, I have booked the meeting FOR Friday (making an arrangement), and I am totally FOR equality and fully against segregation. (to express an opinion.)

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In the following sentence;

I need TO go TO the supermarket FOR some fruit and vegetables FOR my mother.

Expresses, the infinitive (to go), the preposition for direction (to), the reason for going (for) and on behalf of or in place of (for). Explained simply, we often favour for as a reason so as not to need to explain the verb (to buy, to get, to take, to steal etc) while the for) on behalf of says that maybe the person who receives the goods in this case, is unable to perform the task themselves.

Consider the next example;

Please send an Email TO me. I wish to receive an Email from you (in my direction)

Please send an Email FOR me. I need your help to send an Email. (Please send an Email on my behalf.)

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Brazilians translate their prepositions para and por into both TO and FOR.

It isn't uncommon for phrases to be made up of both at different times;

I bought this present TO you (FOR you or TO give TO you), or I want FOR drive FOR the stores (I want TO drive TO the stores) This folder is FOR keep documents safe. (FOR keeping or To keep)

The challenge is therefore, FOR Brazilians to avoid translating from their own language and to get a better feel for the English use of both TO and FOR .

And the Native English speaker must always help by ensuring that their own correspondence is correct and uses these two forms properly.

I hope that this was good enough FOR you.TO understand these two prepositions a little better.

Good TO you or Good FOR you

I thought it might be good FOR you to look at something that seems to cause some confusion.

I also thought I would be good TO you and expand on the differences in the use of TO and FOR.

What FOR you might ask? TO teach us what these prepositions are used FOR or TO send us TO the crazy farm?

No my friends. None of this. These two prepositions are usually quite simple to understand, once you get used to their purpose. But I digress. The first part of this post is all about what is good FOR and good TO.

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In the first part of my opening sentence I used GOOD FOR YOU. 

This structure talks about what might be beneficial to you, something that is meant to be helpful. This describes the results of an act in much the same way as `It must have been HORRIBLE FOR her to find her car had been stolen` describes how bad someone must have felt.

In the next part I used, GOOD TO YOU, to describe my personal desire to be kind and helpful to you. I, we, you, they, he or she can be helpful TO you by treating you kindly and well. 

A CAR or an EXERCISE cannot be GOOD TO you because they are not able to perform acts of any type. They can be good FOR you by being beneficial to you.. 

Being GOOD TO SOMEONE is an act performed by people on other people. We can also express similar ideas by using KIND TO, NICE TO, BAD TO, HORRIBLE TO, NASTY TO as well as many others.

BULLYING is really HORRIBLE FOR people when other people are HORRIBLE TO them. 

It might be GOOD FOR you to be BETTER TO other people.

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My next post will continue along a similar theme by trying to illustrate how very differently we use TO and FOR

Understanding deadlines when using UP TO, BEFORE, BY & UNTIL

Christmas is just around the corner and there are deadlines to be met.

Your work and Santa´s presents have to be ready before the 25th of December, by the 24th of December to be exact. At midnight of the 25th, he should have finished his deliveries and you should be relaxing with your family having celebrated a pleasant day without stress.

That is if you managed to meet your deadlines.

In English, deadlines are often established using a variety of expressions which include BY, UNTIL, BEFORE and UP TO, among others. Brazilian Portuguese relies on the word até.

The words BEFORE and UP TO infer a deadline by stating the day or date.

The work must be ready BEFORE Friday infers that the deadline is Friday but that the work should be completed on Thursday ready for Friday.
I need the number of hours worked UP TO (and including) the last day of the month BEFORE Friday. Here we see that the deadline inferred in calculating the number of hours worked is related to the range of dates from the first day (not defined here) to the last day being the end of the month.  Friday establishes a deadline for delivery as in the previous sentence.

BY and UNTIL are used to stipulate a specific deadline.

The work must be completed BY Friday. (This form establishes a priority and date that cannot be passed.)

You have UNTIL Friday to complete the work. (This form also specifies a date that cannot be passed, but greatly alters the concept of priorities). It is assumed here that there is enough time before the deadline to be able to prioritize other tasks as long as the deadline is respected.

What is most important here is to recognize the difference in the structures used. They ARE NOT interchangeable.

Contrast the difference in meaning by using  BY or UNTIL  in the following example.
I will be in the office BY 15:00 (3pm). This infers that the person is outside the office and will return to the office some time before, but no later than 15:00 (3pm).
I will be in the office UNTIL 15:00 (3pm). This, on the other hand, infers that the person is in the office and will leave the office at 15:00 (3pm).

As mentioned earlier, Brazilian Portuguese relies on the word até. This word translates primarily to UNTIL while BY is understood to mean até as well. Because of there being only a single word in Portuguese to mean both BY and UNTIL, there is often a lot of confusion as to which of these two words they should use. Whereas in English we might clearly understand what is implied through the use of one or the other, Brazilians will not always, "get" this difference.

To make things worse, the word até is also very close to the English preposition AT. This results in a kind of double translation where AT is read as até then translated into BY which ends up being used in the following way - "I'll meet you BY 15:00 (3pm)" when in fact the phrase should be "I'll meet you AT 15:00 (3pm)" 

Once you understand these difficulties it is up to you to make sure you communicate exactly what you mean.
"The last day or The deadline for delivery is day XXXX or date XXXX" might be easier to understand than "The XXXX has to be delivered BY XXXX".

While this situation may not always seem to be critical, the right choice of words reduces the doubts and head scratching that comes about through the misuse of similar meaning terms. For the native English speaker this is also a chance to reflect on how you communicate with other non-native users of English.

The problem with "NEXT"

Not so long ago while arranging a series of classes with a very important executive we agreed on Thursday mornings as being best for both of us. The only thing that needed to be done was to establish when we would start.
Tuesday morning I received an Email from my client stating that he would like to begin "NEXT Thursday". So I registered this time in my agenda and forwarded the email to the school where they duly registered the same details.
Two days later I was in the middle of another class when I received a message from the Executive asking me if I had forgotten my appointment with him. I quickly contacted the school to see if they had received any kind of message changing the day and was informed that the day booked was indeed next week. It took a few moments for me to understand what might have happened until I realized the curse of the "NEXT" in the executive's Email.
English is very clear about its use of "NEXT" especially when dealing with time.
THIS week, THIS month, THIS year and THIS century are as explicit as NEXT week, NEXT month, NEXT year and NEXT century are.
Thursday is understood to be THIS Thursday while NEXT Thursday will always refer to the Thursday of next week. When we use ON Thursday by itself, then the tense that follows indicates whether it is a Thursday of the past or a Thursday of the future. In the Executive's message received on Tuesday,  NEXT Thursday could only refer to the following Thursday,  not this Thursday in two days time.
In much the same way we often ask what HAPPENED last Thursday to refer to the week before and what WILL happen on Thursday, referring to the Thursday still to come this week. 

Brazilians have a big problem with NEXT (proximo) in their own language. Not everybody is sure whether PROXIMO is being used to mean THE NEXT event or the FOLLOWING event, which leads to many double questions and sometimes explanations of what is really meant. It would seem that this confusion is carried through to English where NEXT is used in place of THE NEXT, a legitimate structure but inconsistent with this concept of time.
After I understood what had happened to my Executive, I quickly replied to him with a brief explanation of what the problem was. This may not have been much of a problem with regards to classes, but I couldn’t help imagining the serious consequences of something similar happening to an international visitor.
It is, therefore very important to not only understand the correct way of referring to a future appointment,  but also understand that the simplest concepts in English may not be so simple in other cultures. ALWAYS include a DATE as well as the day,  the one or more TIME references, usually in 24-hour notation, as well as the time zones when necessary.