Introduction: Hello, hello and welcome to Fundamentos. This is our new 30-day English course that will help you be more comfortable and more confident in day to day situations in English. Isso aí, seja bem vindo ao Fundamentos. É o nosso novo curso que vai te ensinar como dominar as situações essenciais do dia a dia. We are super excited that you are participating and we're confident that you're going to learn a lot. Então vamos começar!

Foster: Hello, hello. Hey Alexia.

Alexia: Hey Foster.

Foster: How are you doing today?

Alexia: Good. What about you?

Foster: I'm doing pretty well, thank you. So Alexia, today we are going to talk about perhaps one of the most important, one of the most fundamental things that you need to know in English. 

Alexia: Yes. How to introduce yourself. 

Foster: Exactly, how to introduce yourself. So, to begin Alexia, can you translate this phrase 'how to introduce yourself'?

Alexia: Como se apresentar.

Foster: Yes. So this is a little confusing because when you talk about 'presenting yourself' in English, it has a little bit of a different context. For example, if you say, "Oh, he presents himself very well." É mais tipo "ele é muito bem vestido, muito bem visto."

Alexia: Uh-huh. 

Foster: But 'how to introduce yourself' é 'como se apresentar.'

Alexia: Okay.

Foster: Does that make sense?

Alexia: Yes. 

Foster: Okay. So Alexia, why do you think this is one of the most important things that you need to know? 

Alexia: Because it's where most of people get to know you, right?

I will get to know him tomorrow.
Eu vou poder conhecer ele amanhã.

He got a scholarship so he will get to study in Germany. Ele recebeu uma bolsa de estudos, então ele vai ter a oportunidade de estudar na Alemanha. 

Foster: Most people.

Alexia: Most people get to know you and most of the conversations start. 

Foster: Exactly. 

Alexia: When you don't know, right? Anyone there.

Foster: Yes. So, talking about you, talking about yourself is going to be one of the most common conversations that you're going to have again and again and again in English. So it's something that you want to be really confident with and very comfortable with.

Alexia: Yes.

Foster: Cool. So let's begin. Alexia, let's imagine that we're meeting for the first time and you're going to introduce yourself.**

I will meet my friends on Saturday.
Eu vou encontrar meus amigos no sábado.
I'll meet my new professor tomorrow (for the first time).
Eu vou conhecer meu professor novo amanhã.

Alexia: It's a #tbt situation. 

Foster: A #tbt.

Alexia: Yeah. 

Foster: Throwback thursday. 

Alexia: Yeah.

Foster: That is a hashtag from Instagram. 

Alexia: Uh-huh.

Foster: Okay, so here we go, Alexia. Hey, it's nice to meet you.

Alexia: Hi, back at you. What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Foster: That's a very good phrase, 'back at you.'

Alexia: Yes.

Foster: Okay, let's pause for just one moment to explain this phrase. 'Back at you,' 'igualmente.'

Alexia: Sim, exatamente. E você não estava esperando por isso.

Foster: Não, não estava mesmo. Okay, so one of the first and really essential questions, "What is your name?"

Alexia: My name is Alexia. What about you?

Foster: My name is Foster.

Alexia: Hi Foster.

Foster: Hi Alexia. So just a quick point, most of the time in English, in conversations, most native speakers do not say, "What is your name?" We have a contraction and we say, "What's your name?"

Alexia: What's your name?

Foster: Yes. So we do this a lot in English, we 'eat' a lot of sounds, so do not be surprised if someone says, "What's your name?" 

Alexia: Uh-huh.

Foster: Okay? And another quick tip, when someone says, "What's your name?" You do not need to give your complete Brazilain name.

Alexia: No. I was going to ask you if I should say my last name as well, because in the south people like to say Foster Hodge, Alexia Souza, I don't know. 

Foster: Yes. 

Alexia: If it's more formal, informal…

Foster: Exactly. In more formal situations, for example, if you are in a business meeting or you have an interview, it makes a lot more sense to say your first name and your last name. But if you are just meeting someone when you're traveling or studying, I think it's a lot more natural just to say your first name. 

Alexia: Yes. 

Foster: Cool. So Alexia, where are you from?"

Alexia: I'm from Brazil, I'm from Rio de Janeiro. What about you?

Foster: Very cool. I'm from The United States, from the state South Carolina.

Alexia: Cool. Never been there.

Foster: Yes, you have. So Alexia, I think you know this but it's very very important. In the phrase 'Where are you from?', most Brazilians have the tendency to say, "Where are you from?" 'From.' So in English, when we have a word that ends with the letter M, we close our mouth completely, correct?

Alexia: Correct.

Foster: So when I say we close our mouth completely, that means that our mouth is closed, our lips are touching together. So for example, Alexia, fala isso pra mim, fala a palavra 'bom.'

Alexia: Bom, good. 

Foster: É, mas em português.

Alexia: Ah, bom.

Foster: É... 'Bom', a última letra é M, né?

Alexia: Isso.

Foster: Mas a sua boca fica aberta. 

Alexia: Fica, 'bom.' Fica um pouquinho aberta. Em inglês a gente fecha completamente, é o oposto.

Foster: É, por isso, quando você está escutando gringos tipo eu falando em português, muitas pessoas vão falar, "É… tudo bom."

Alexia: É.

Foster: Porque em inglês é assim que a gente faz. 

Alexia: Sim. 

Foster: Okay, so close your mouth with the final M. So Alexia, where are you from? I'm from...

Alexia: Brazil.

Foster: Perfect. How old are you?

Alexia: I'm 30 years old. I'm about to be 31 years old. 

Foster: So it's very important to remember that, in English, we do not 'have' years, we 'are' years. 

Alexia: Which is very weird, but that's the way that it is. 

Foster: It's very weird, but that's another good example that directly translating…

Alexia: Doesn't work.

Foster: Normally is not the best idea. 

Alexia: Yeah.

Foster: So, in English, you do not say, "I have 30 years," or you do not say, "I'm 30 years," but you say, "I'm 30 years old." You can say simply, "I'm 30," which is a little less formal, but it always works. 

Alexia: Uh-huh. 

Foster: So, just to repeat one more time. Alexia, how old are you?

Alexia: I'm 30 years old. 

Foster: When is your birthday? 

Alexia: November 16th. 

Foster: Excellent, perfect. Okay. So after the first initial information of 'Who are you? Where are you from?' Normally people start to talk about 'What do you do?' So in English, especially in The United States, because we're very capitalist and we really love to work, when someone says, "What do you do?"

Alexia: It's related to work.

Foster: Yes, they're asking you, "How do you make money?" They're not asking, "What do you do on Friday night for fun?" So Alexia, what do you do? 

Alexia: I'm a podcaster. 

Foster: Perfect. So this works for all situations. You could say, "I'm a management consultant." Or you could say, "I work in international development. I work in finance."

Alexia: Yeah. Again, keep it simple. 

Foster: Keep it simple. Okay, another question that people could ask instead of 'What do you do?' They could say, "Do you work or do you study?"

Alexia: Yeah, and then you can say, "Oh, I'm studying..." Or "I'm working."

Foster: Yes. So for example, you could say, "I'm studying chemical engineering at university." Or you could say, "I am working in..."

Alexia: In business administration.

Foster: I'm working in business administration. Or right now, because of the pandemic, you could say, "At the moment I'm unemployed." Do you understand unemployed?

Alexia: Yes. Desempregado, sem emprego. 

Foster: Exactly. Yeah. So another good phrase, if you're unemployed, you could say, "Right now I'm looking for work."

Alexia: Yes, because it's more positive than just saying, "Yeah, I'm unemployed." No. "I'm looking for work, I'm looking to do something."

Foster: Exactly. Yeah, so if you're already working, maybe some people will ask you, "What did you study in school?" So you're speaking in the past. Alexia, what did you study in school? 

Alexia: Business administration. 

Foster: Okay. So if we include the verb, you can say, "I studied business administration."

Alexia: Yes.

Foster: Perfect. And Alexia, last question, this is a very common question and sometimes very difficult because it really gives other people a lot of information about you. What do you like to do in your free time? 

Alexia: I love going outside and going to parks, and walking around the city and taking my dog to walk and reading a book. 

Foster: Excellent.

Alexia: Going to the movies, meeting new friends. You have a lot of things to answer there. 

Foster: Yes. Of course it does not matter what you like to do in your free time but the important thing that I want to explain, when you're talking about, "I like to do something," you have two options, okay? You can say, "I like to run" or "I like to read books," but you can also say, "I like running" or "I like reading books," okay? Então a gente tem o verbo no infinitivo, "I like to read." Também temos o gerúndio.

Alexia: Uh-huh.

Foster: Which in English, we have the ING at the end, okay?

Alexia: Okay.

Foster: So two options, "I like to read" or "I like reading."

Alexia: Yeah. 

Foster: So Alexia, give me those two options with something you like to do in your free time. 

Alexia: I like to take my dog for a walk. I like taking my dog for a walk.

Foster: Exactly, really good. I think I'd say I like to take my dog on a walk. 

Alexia: What's the difference? 

Foster: That's a complicated question. To be honest both work but, my personal preference is to say 'on a walk.'

Alexia: Okay.

Foster: Everyone will understand you in both contexts. 

Alexia: Perfect. That's the main point.

Foster: Exactly. So, a very important point to end today, Alexia, you don't have to be perfect, right? So when you're introducing yourself, the idea is not to say everything perfectly but the idea is to be an interesting person, to be confident, to have fun and other people will recognize that and it will be much easier to make friends, to make new connections and just to have a better time when you're traveling or talking to native speakers.

Alexia: E uma coisa muito importante, que a gente sempre tem que ter na cabeça e eu vou repetir pra você pra sempre, é que nós já estamos fazendo um esforço absurdo de falar uma outra língua e sabermos nos apresentar em inglês e falar sobre o que que a gente gosta de fazer e etc. Então nunca se coloque num lugar inferior, você já tá lá, se apresentando em inglês e mostrando que você pode. E daí que você vai fazer erros? Não tem o menor problema. Coloca a sua confiança lá em cima que a gente vai conquistar o mundo.

Foster: Exatamente. Thank you Alexia. As always, keep up the good fight…

Alexia: And lose well.

perhaps - possivelmente, talvez

does that make sense? - faz sentido?

talking about yourself - falando sobre si mesmo

for the first time - pela primeira vez

native speakers - falantes nativos

quick tip - dica rápida

traveling - viajando

never been there - nunca estive lá, nunca fui

mouth - boca

lips - lábios

weird - esquisito, estranho

simply - simplesmente

a little less - um pouco menos

keep it simple - faça o simples, mantenha simples

unemployed - desempregado

it does not matter - isso não importa

recognize - reconhecer

to make friends - fazer amigos