Place adverbs

There, there, and there!

There are three ways of saying there in Portuguese! If something is aí, it’s near the listener.

Quero dormir aí na tua casa.

I want to sleep there at your house.

If something’s ali, it’s not too close, but also not too far, from both the speaker and the listener.

O gato come ali.

The cat eats (over) there.

Finally, lá is far, far away from both the speaker and the listener.

Você não vai chegar lá.

You are not going to get there.

Is there a cat here?

Há means both there is and there are.

Há um gato na casa.

There is a cat in the house.

Não há animais aqui.

There aren't animals here.

I spy with my little eye

Can you spy the difference between i and í? It changes both how you say a word... and its meaning!

Ai means ouch, and the i in this expression is very soft.

ai, pai

Pronounced as eye.

Add an accent mark to the i and you get aí, which is pronounced as two syllables!

aí

aí, Raí

A like in father, and í like in city.