12 Best Portuguese Grammar Books for Beginners and Beyond

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Hardly anything feels more rewarding than realizing you’re slowly but surely mastering a new language. While grammar is typically the trickiest part of the process, you can make it way easier when you rely on the right tools.

If you’re studying Portuguese and don’t seem to know which references you should use to guide your studies where grammar is concerned, worry no more: you’ll find the most comprehensive and well-thought-out Portuguese grammar books right ahead.

Best Portuguese grammar books for beginners

1. Essential Portuguese Grammar

The coolest thing about Essential Portuguese Grammar is that it doesn’t assume you know anything about grammar at all. At the very end of the book, you’ll come across a section where all technical terms used throughout the units are defined.

The result is a reader that is at the same time extremely thorough and easy to follow. Though focused on European Portuguese (especially when it comes to spelling), it won’t let Brazilian Portuguese learners down.

Units in the book follow a logical progression in terms of content and are guaranteed to help you expand your vocabulary as you take your first steps in Portuguese.

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This book is great for:

• Learning European Portuguese
• Students approaching Portuguese for the first time
• The numerous examples you’ll find after each explanation

2. Portuguese Verbs & Essentials of Grammar

Author Sue Tyson-Ward has published a handful of books aimed at students of Portuguese, so she knows exactly where the shoe pinches. Here, she offers a verb-centered grammar reference that never loses sight of real-life usage.

Each unit of Portuguese Verbs & Essentials of Grammar introduces a new concept or verb tense, which should make your learning process way smoother.

Some reviewers argue the book is ideal for advanced beginners rather than first-timers. Yet if you count on an actual textbook to study with it will definitely serve as a fantastic go-to guide, complete as it is with its list of the 300 most popular Portuguese verbs.

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This book is great for:

• Appendix with 300 common verbs
• Learners in search of a concise grammar guide
• Usage-focused approach

3. A Grammar of Spoken Brazilian Portuguese

Don’t be fooled by this book’s title: it won’t really teach you how Brazilians speak in the 21st century because its publication dates back to the 1940s.

What this Brazilian Portuguese grammar book does that other books hardly do is help you understand how there’s often a huge gap between spoken and written Portuguese as it’s used in Brazil.

Much more than a simple grammar reference, A Grammar of Spoken Brazilian Portuguese is a grammar-focused textbook that presents the core concepts you should be familiar with across 29 sections, plus an introduction devoted to pronunciation, stress patterns, and spelling.

This book is great for:

• Time-tested effectiveness
• Those looking to master all the thorny parts of Brazilian Portuguese grammar
• Tons of exercises following each explanation

4. The Language Lover’s Guide to Learning Portuguese

I love how this book, despite being a grammar guide, explains all the hard stuff in a detailed and engaging way — so that you can read it from cover to cover if you feel like it.

Before moving on to the key concepts that make up the bulk of The Language Lover’s Guide to Learning Portuguese, authors Russell Walker and Rafael Tavares take some time to present how basic spelling and pronunciation work and to teach you how to greet in Portuguese too.

Each unit is followed by a set of exercises that will have you memorize what you’ve just seen. To top it all off, the last section of the book centers on vocabulary and introduces you to colors, numbers, animals, and even medical terms in Portuguese.

This book is great for:

• Students of European Portuguese who also want to learn a bit of the Brazilian dialect
• Those of you struggling with pronunciation
• Extremely thorough explanations

5. Tudo bem? Vamos aprender Português!

Tudo bem? Vamos aprender Português! is hands down one of the best Portuguese textbooks on the market because it doesn’t sugarcoat its content with cute drawings and neverending dialogues.

Rather, it mixes complex grammar concepts with vocabulary that you’ll need to master in order to become fluent, e.g., days of the week, professions, and clothing items.

Dialogues are there, but only when they’re absolutely necessary to help you understand a language structure. Then, after each lesson, you’ll have several exercises to practice what you’ve just learned.

This book is great for:

• Folks who want to invest in a standalone book to learn Portuguese
• Amazing content mix, complete with exercises and readings
• Expanding your vocabulary

6. European Portuguese Grammar

I have to tell you this book is quite controversial. Author David James Young claims to have upended grammar learning by grouping concepts into new categories instead of good ole’ parts of speech.

While not all readers are exactly delighted by his efforts, learners who are having a hard time with more traditional methods could as well give it a shot.

European Portuguese Grammar takes on written as much as spoken Portuguese, which means it’ll give you the real deal rather than a bunch of barely useful lessons.

This book is great for:

• Innovative and user-friendly take on grammar
• Nailing complex European Portuguese structures
• Learning how to speak and write in Portuguese at the same time

Best Portuguese grammar books for intermediates

7. 501 Portuguese Verbs

I feel relieved for learning how to conjugate verbs in Portuguese in grade school, I’ll give you that. With 10+ tenses, the verb world can be full of traps not only in Portuguese, but in Romance languages as a whole.

If you’re struggling to adapt to this new world you’ve just entered, this book will be perfect for you. It doesn’t throw table upon table at you, making sure instead that the purpose and usage of each tense are clear before moving on to the next.

This book is great for:

• Coverage of all aspects of verb conjugation
• Bridging the gap between basic and intermediate to advanced Portuguese
• List of 1,250 other verbs that are conjugated after the 501 main verbs

8. Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

When it’s all said and done, you can normally assess the quality of a grammar guide by how it’s structured. This book passes that test with flying colors.

Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar is divided into two main sections. While Part A will introduce you to the parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.), Part B concentrates on the function of words in a sentence as it teaches how to express ideas and communicate in Portuguese.

By this description, you probably noticed this is not your regular grammar reference: its goal is guiding your studies rather than being referred to here and there.

And in case you already speak Spanish, this book will be even more of an asset, as it boasts notes throughout that highlight the differences between the two languages.

This book is great for:

• Clear presentation of both grammatical categories and functions
• Spanish speakers, who’ll benefit from the notes meant specifically for them
• Keeping as a reference guide for your Portuguese studies

9. An Introductory Portuguese Grammar

This is yet another classic European Portuguese grammar book, first edited in the 1940s. It has been consistently updated since and remains a valuable reference to anyone looking to perfect their Portuguese communication skills.

Though mostly devoted to European Portuguese, this book often compares how Brazilian Portuguese differs from it where appropriate. Its 25 lessons cover the basics of parts of speech and verb tenses.

Like any Portuguese grammar books worth the name, An Introductory Portuguese Grammar boasts an extensive appendix with the conjugation of commonly used verbs and a small bilingual dictionary.

This book is great for:

• Covering both pronunciation and grammar specifics
• Understanding how European Portuguese grammar works
• Both classroom and self-teaching students

Best Portuguese grammar books for advanced learners

10. Português do Brasil Como Língua Estrangeira: Gramática

Once you’ve mastered the essential Portuguese grammar topics, you should be able to make the most of books like Português do Brasil Como Língua Estrangeira, which is entirely written in Portuguese. This is an amazing resource for students of all levels, as it’s meant as a reference guide rather than a textbook.

That said, it does focus on the formal register you’d be expected to use in a work environment. That’s awesome if you’re after enhancing your business prospects by learning Portuguese, but otherwise, you may find greater value in another title.

This book is great for:

• Students who want to challenge themselves and study Portuguese grammar in Portuguese
• Learning Portuguese for work
• Complete and straightforward explanations complemented by dozens of exercises

11. Gramática Fácil

Although this grammar book requires an upper intermediate to advanced level of Portuguese to be perfectly understood, it’s aimed at native high schoolers. That means technical terms are usually avoided and explanations are clear and to the point.

Author Evanildo Bechara is a legendary Brazilian grammarian who has penned dozens of books for classroom use. This superb reference guide is pretty concise; more comprehensive works by Bechara include Gramática Escolar da Língua Portuguesa and Moderna Gramática Portuguesa.

This book is great for:

• Examples from both contemporary literature and all-time classics
• Clear and intuitive layout;
• Authored by one of the most respected Brazilian grammarians

12. Gramática Superior da Língua Portuguesa

What’s in a name? Well, in this case, everything. The “Superior Grammar of the Portuguese Language” got that title because it targets higher learning, but it is indeed much denser than all similar books available on the market.

I wanted to add Gramática Superior da Língua Portuguesa to our list to make sure all levels of language are covered, yet probably few of you will need to understand Portuguese grammar so deeply. Simpler topics are explained briefly, whereas complex issues are discussed at length in essay-like lessons.

To those of you who are planning to use Portuguese in academia, this 400-page grammar book by Brazilian professor of linguistics José Augusto Carvalho will certainly be a lot of help.

This book is great for:

• Writing essays and academic papers in Portuguese
• Learners who are truly passionate about grammar
• Those who feel confident about their level of language and just plan on smoothing out the rough edges

Conclusion

If you’re determined to master Portuguese grammar and become fluent, you’ll need to surround yourself with the finest resources on the market, including at least a couple of Portuguese grammar books.

You’ll realize the investment is worthwhile, though. Of course, a grammar guide should never be a standalone study material.

Yet combined with other kinds of Portuguese learning books, mobile apps, courses, and other Portuguese learning tools, they’re guaranteed to help you achieve your language learning goals — in Portuguese and any other foreign language you’re willing to master.

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