Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a dementia syndrome whose onset and course manifests with language deficits. There is a lack of instruments for clinical assessment of language in dementia and further research in the area is needed. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to identify language tasks that can aid the process of clinically diagnosing PPA and to determine those tasks most impaired in this population. METHOD: A sample of 87 individuals comprising 2 groups was assessed: a PPA group (PPAG) of 29 PPA patients; and a control group (CG) of 58 healthy subjects matched for age and education. All participants underwent a brief cognitive battery followed by a comprehensive language assessment using the MTL-BR Battery.