Learn how to make questions in Portuguese
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Intro |
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| Michael: How are questions made in Portuguese? |
| Ana Clara: And how is each type of "why" properly used? |
| Michael: At PortuguesePod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Sasha Lee is reviewing her history textbook with her classmate, Giovana Gomes. She sees a word with an unexpected spelling and asks, "Why is this written with a circumflex accent here?" |
| Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Giovana Gomes: Porque está no final da frase. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Michael: "Why is this written with a circumflex accent here?" |
| Giovana Gomes: Porque está no final da frase. |
| Michael: "Because it's at the end of the sentence." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, you will learn how to ask questions using "why" in Portuguese and the different spellings of this word according to each case. |
| We use "Why..." to ask the reason for something. When the sentence starts with this interrogative word, the spelling is: |
| Ana Clara: Por que… |
| Michael: Let's see an example: |
| Ana Clara: Por que você foi embora cedo ontem? |
| Michael: "Why did you leave early yesterday?" In this case, the interrogative word "why" is at the beginning of the sentence. |
| Instead, if we use it at the end of the sentence, its spelling will be different: |
| Ana Clara: ... por quê? |
| Michael: In this case, the last "e" has a circumflex accent. For example: |
| Ana Clara: Você foi embora cedo ontem por quê? |
| Michael: "You left early yesterday—why?." |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Lee says "Why is this written with a circumflex accent here?" |
| Ana Clara as Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Michael: When Sasha Lee makes the question to clarify her doubt, the interrogative word "why" is at the beginning of the sentence in Portuguese, therefore, it's written as: |
| Ana Clara: Por que |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Giovana Gomes says "Because it's at the end of the sentence?" |
| Ana Clara: Porque está no final da frase. |
| Michael: In this case, Giovana Gomes' explanation clarifies that "why" in Portuguese has a circumflex accent at the "e," as asked by Sasha Lee, because the word is at the end of the sentence. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you've learned about how to ask "why" in Portuguese and the different spellings of the word according to its position in the sentence. Now, let's look at some examples. Our first example is: |
| Ana Clara: Por que você não comprou pão hoje? |
| Michael: "Why didn't you buy bread today?." In this case, as you've already learned, the interrogative word "why" is at the beginning of the sentence in Portuguese, therefore, it's written as: |
| Ana Clara: Por que |
| Michael: The next example is: |
| Ana Clara: Você não comprou pão hoje por quê? |
| Michael: "You didn't buy bread today—why?." In this second example, the question word "why" was used at the end of the sentence, therefore, it's spelling includes a circumflex accent in the letter "e": |
| Ana Clara: por quê |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Ana Clara: Por que |
| Michael: can also be used to answer a question, and to give an explanation, for example. However, in this case, it becomes one single word: |
| Ana Clara: porque |
| Michael: And it will have the meaning of "because." Let's see an example: |
| Ana Clara: Eu não fui ao supermercado porque já estava muito tarde. |
| Michael: "I didn't go to the supermarket because it was already too late." |
| Another similar spelling you may see is: |
| Ana Clara: porquê |
| Michael: which is a single word with the circumflex accent at the "e." This word has the meaning of "the why" or "the reason why." For example: |
| Ana Clara: Não entendi o porquê desta solicitação. |
| Michael: "I didn't understand the reason for this request." |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after Ana Clara focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Lee says "Why is this written with a circumflex accent here?" |
| Ana Clara as Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ana Clara as Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Ana Clara as Sasha Lee: Por que isto está escrito com um acento circunflexo aqui? |
| Michael: And do you remember how Giovana Gomes says "Because it's at the end of the sentence?" |
| Ana Clara as Giovana Gomes: Porque está no final da frase. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ana Clara as Giovana Gomes: Porque está no final da frase. |
| Ana Clara as Giovana Gomes: Porque está no final da frase. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: When texting in Portuguese, you may see an abbreviation of "why," which is: |
| Ana Clara: pq |
| Michael: For example: |
| Ana Clara: Pq você não me respondeu ontem? |
| Michael: "Why didn't you answer me yesterday?." |
| The abbreviation is also used to mean "because," for example: |
| Ana Clara: Eu não te liguei ontem pq cheguei tarde em casa. |
| Michael: "I didn't call you yesterday because I got home late." |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Ana Clara: Até a próxima! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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