Questions & Answers about Este sonho parece tão real.
Portuguese has three main demonstratives that all often translate as “this/that” in English, but they show different “distances”:
- este / esta / estes / estas – this/these (near the speaker)
- esse / essa / esses / essas – that/those (near the listener) or already mentioned
- aquele / aquela / aqueles / aquelas – that/those (far from both), more distant in space, time, or concept
In Este sonho parece tão real:
- este suggests this dream is close to the speaker — for example:
- the dream they just woke up from
- the dream they’re currently describing or thinking about very vividly
You could use esse sonho in some contexts, especially if you’re referring to the dream the other person mentioned, but este sonho is the default if it’s my own dream I’ve just had or I’m strongly focused on.
Sonho here is a noun, meaning “dream” (the thing you have when you sleep, or an aspiration).
sonho (with -o) = “dream” (noun, masculine, singular)
- o sonho = the dream
- um sonho = a dream
sonha would usually be a verb form of sonhar (“to dream”):
- ele/ela sonha = he/she dreams
In this sentence, este sonho = this dream (noun phrase), so sonho must be the noun form, not the verb.
In Portuguese, you normally use a definite article with sonho:
- O sonho parece tão real. = The dream seems so real.
But when you use a demonstrative (este, esse, aquele) + noun, you normally do not add another article:
- ✅ este sonho = this dream
- ❌ este o sonho (incorrect)
The demonstrative already plays the role of pointing to a specific noun, so the extra o / a / os / as is not needed and sounds wrong in this structure.
The most natural translations are:
- “This dream feels so real.”
- “This dream seems so real.”
Portuguese parece usually maps to English “seems” or “looks/feels/sounds”, depending on context. With dreams, English often prefers “feels so real”, even though the literal meaning is “seems so real.”
- parecer = “to seem / appear”
- ser = “to be”
Este sonho parece tão real.
= This dream seems/feels so real (but it’s actually not real).
If you say Este sonho é tão real, it means:
- “This dream is so real” (more like you’re treating the dream as genuinely real, or speaking metaphorically, or talking about the quality of the story, movie, etc.).
So:
- Use parece when you want to convey appearance or feeling, not actual reality.
- Use é when you are asserting that something really is that way (or are treating it as such).
Parecer is the verb in the infinitive, meaning “to seem / to appear”.
Present tense conjugation (indicative):
- eu pareço – I seem
- tu pareces – you (singular, informal) seem
- ele/ela/você parece – he/she/you seem
- nós parecemos – we seem
- vocês/eles/elas parecem – you (pl.) / they seem
In Este sonho parece tão real:
- The subject is este sonho.
- The verb form is parece (3rd person singular) to agree with sonho (singular).
So literally: “This dream seems so real.”
Subject (este sonho) + verb (parece) + complement (tão real).
Tão means “so” (as in so real), and it’s used mainly in:
Emphasis:
- tão + adjective/adverb
- tão real, tão bonito, tão depressa
= so real, so beautiful, so quickly
Often in exclamations:
- É tão bonito! = It’s so beautiful!
Muito has two main uses:
As “very” before adjectives/adverbs:
- muito real = very real
- muito bonito = very beautiful
As “a lot/much/many” with nouns:
- muito trabalho = a lot of work
- muitos sonhos = many dreams
Differences in feel:
- tão real → “so real” (stronger, more emotional, often exclamatory)
- muito real → “very real” (a bit more neutral or descriptive)
In this sentence, tão matches the emotional tone: you’re impressed by how real the dream feels.
No. The natural word order in Portuguese is:
- tão + adjective/adverb
So:
- ✅ tão real (correct)
- ❌ real tão (incorrect, sounds foreign)
The usual pattern is:
- [subject] + [verb] + tão + [adjective/adverb]
Examples:
- O filme é tão longo. = The movie is so long.
- Ela fala tão depressa. = She speaks so fast.
- Este sonho parece tão real. = This dream seems so real.
In normal, neutral speech, the word order is fixed as:
Este sonho parece tão real.
Putting tão real in the middle:
- Este sonho tão real parece
sounds poetic / literary / unusual and is not what you’d say in everyday conversation. You might see inverted word order in poetry or song lyrics, but for standard usage, keep:
- subject + verb + complement
- Este sonho
- parece
- tão real
- parece
Yes, Portuguese requires agreement in number:
Singular:
- Este sonho parece tão real.
- This dream seems so real.
Plural:
- Estes sonhos parecem tão reais.
- These dreams seem so real.
Changes:
- este → estes (this → these)
- sonho → sonhos (dream → dreams)
- parece → parecem (seems → seem)
- real → reais (real → real, plural form)
The verb and the adjective must match the noun (plural vs singular).
Yes, both are possible, but the nuance changes slightly:
Este sonho parece tão real.
- Emphatic, emotional: so real!
Este sonho parece mesmo real.
- mesmo here ≈ “really / genuinely”:
- It suggests you’re almost convinced it is real.
Este sonho parece realmente real.
- realmente = “really / truly”
- More emphatic or sometimes a bit more formal/literary:
- Literally: “This dream seems truly real.”
All three work; tão real is the most neutral spoken choice when you’re just exclaiming how real it feels.
Grammatically and lexically, no difference:
- Este sonho parece tão real. is correct and natural in both European and Brazilian Portuguese.
Main differences are in pronunciation:
In European Portuguese (Portugal):
- este → roughly “esh-t(ɨ)”, very reduced final vowel
- sonho → “soñu” with a palatalized nh
- parece → stress on -re-, final -ce is like “s”
- tão → strong nasal vowel, like “taw~”
- real → “reh-AHL” (two clear syllables)
In Brazilian Portuguese:
- vowels are generally more open and clear, less reduced
- real often “he-AU” (depending on region)
But the words and structure are the same in both varieties.