Questions in Portuguese

2 de December de 2013

Howdy y’all! Today’s Dica will teach us about questions in Portuguese, so you’ll be able to start asking questions in no time! We will take a look at how we use question words and even question tags.

 

Portuguese Question Words

We use the interrogative sentences when we want to ask a question or interrogate someone. Every interrogative sentence ends with a question mark: ? But to fully understand the structures needed to make questions in Portuguese, first we need to take a quick look at the question words in Portuguese. Some Portuguese question words are: what (o que), when (quando), where (onde), who (quem) and why (por que). In Portuguese, they are called “Pronomes Interrogativos”, and you can take a better look at them here. Besides that, it’s very important to know the basic Portuguese verbs so you’ll know how to create the questions that you want to ask. Take a look at some examples:

O que vocΓͺ vai comer hoje?
What are you going to eat today?

Onde vocΓͺ mora?
Where do you live?

Quando vocΓͺ chega no Brasil?
WhenΒ will you arrive in Brazil?

Por que ele estΓ‘ aqui?
Why is he here?

Quem Γ© vocΓͺ?
Who are you?

Common Questions in Portuguese

Take a look at this table of the most common and important questions in Portuguese. With these you can start a basic conversation with anyone!

De onde vocΓͺ Γ©? Where are you from?
Quanto custa? How much does it cost?
Onde vocΓͺ mora? Where do you live?
Quantos anos vocΓͺ tem? How old are you?
Qual Γ© o seu trabalho? What’s your job?
Que lΓ­nguas vocΓͺ fala? What languages do you speak?
VocΓͺ jΓ‘ viu? Have you seen?
Onde estΓ‘ ______ ? Where is ______ ?Β 
Quem Γ© vocΓͺ? / Quem sΓ£o vocΓͺs? Who are you?Β 
O que Γ© isso? What is this?Β 
O que vocΓͺ faz? What do you do?
Quando vocΓͺ vai viajar? When are you going to travel?Β 

 

Examples of Questions in Brazilian Portuguese

These examples are great to understand how we can use questions on a daily basis in Portuguese.

VocΓͺ mora no Rio de Janeiro?
Do you live in Rio de Janeiro?

Onde estΓ‘ o seu irmΓ£o?
Where is your brother?

VocΓͺ vai viajar no fim de semana?
Are you going to travel this weekend?

Onde eles aprenderam portuguΓͺs?
Where did they learn Portuguese?

VocΓͺ jΓ‘ se inscreveu na Dica do Dia?
Have you subscribed to the Dica do Dia yet?

Also remember, we have a similar structure to question tags in Portuguese when making such questions! The tag questions in Portuguese are explained fully in another Dica we created for you.

VocΓͺ sabe para onde eles vΓ£o, nΓ£o sabe?
You know where they’re going, don’t you?

Eles vΓ£o chegar cedo, nΓ£o vΓ£o?
They’ll be early, won’t they?

A sua mΓ£e trabalha em uma livraria, nΓ£o trabalha?
Your mother works in a bookstore, doesn’t she?

VocΓͺ jΓ‘ viu os preΓ§os da Rio & Learn, nΓ£o viu?
You’ve already seen Rio & Learn’s prices, haven’t you?

Ana e JΓΊlia sΓ£o irmΓ£s, nΓ£o sΓ£o?
Ana and Julia are sisters, aren’t they?

 

What about answers?

When asking questions in Portuguese, we can’t avoid mentioning how we should answer these questions ourselves. In the Brazilian culture, simple answers as sim (yes) or nΓ£o (no) can be received as a somewhat cold or rude answer. Brazilians often use a simple and polite structure to answer questions in Portuguese, as the examples below show:

VocΓͺ gosta de comer aΓ§aΓ­?
Sim, eu gosto!
Do you like to eat aΓ§aΓ­?
Yes, I do!

VocΓͺ tem amigos no Rio de Janeiro?
Tenho!
Do you have friends in Rio de Janeiro?
Yes, I do!

So it’s quite simple: you just need to reply answering sim (yes) or nΓ£o (no), and then use the right pronoun and verb combination! Or even answer only using the main verb (conjugated correctly!) Β like in the second example. Easy, right?

 

Now it’s your turn!

Make questions for the answers below:

  1. _________________________________________
    Sim, eu gosto de cerveja.
  2. _________________________________________
    NΓ£o, nΓ£o podemos danΓ§ar samba.
  3. _________________________________________
    Sim, eles querem viajar para o Rio.
  4. _________________________________________
    Sim, eu entendi a liΓ§Γ£o.
  5. _________________________________________
    NΓ£o, vocΓͺ nΓ£o me deu o dinheiro.
  6. _________________________________________
    Sim, nΓ³s vamos Γ  praia mais tarde.
  7. _________________________________________
    NΓ£o, eu nΓ£o preciso comprar roupas.
  8. _________________________________________
    NΓ£o, eles nΓ£o conhecem o PelΓ©.

 

That’s all for today, everyone! We have just learned about the interrogative sentences in Portuguese, so what do you say we hit the streets and practice a bit? You can also come to our Facebook page and talk to us! We’ll be waiting to see you in our next Dica (or here in Rio de Janeiro)!

See you then!

Ler esta Dica em PortuguΓͺsΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β  Leer esta Dica en EspaΓ±ol
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Portuguese Question Words
Basic Portuguese Verbs
Types of sentences in Portuguese
Affirmative sentences in Portuguese

 

Answers

  1. VocΓͺ gosta de cerveja?
    Sim, eu gosto de cerveja.
  2. VocΓͺs podem danΓ§ar samba?
    NΓ£o, nΓ£o podemos danΓ§ar samba.
  3. Eles querem viajar para o Rio?
    Sim, eles querem viajar para o Rio.
  4. VocΓͺ entendeu a liΓ§Γ£o?
    Sim, eu entendi a liΓ§Γ£o.
  5. Eu te dei o dinheiro?
    NΓ£o, vocΓͺ nΓ£o me deu o dinheiro.
  6. VocΓͺs vΓ£o Γ  praia mais tarde?
    Sim, nΓ³s vamos Γ  praia mais tarde.
  7. VocΓͺ precisa comprar roupas?
    NΓ£o, eu nΓ£o preciso comprar roupas.
  8. Eles conhecem o PelΓ©?
    NΓ£o, eles nΓ£o conhecem o PelΓ©.