Questions

Almost free. Portuguese does not invert word order and has no auxiliary do. A statement becomes a question by intonation alone.

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Grammar

1. Yes/no questions

Same word order as the statement. Rising intonation.

There is nothing to learn here. In writing, only the question mark changes.

2. né? — the universal tag

né? (neh) — contraction of não é?, literally isn't it? — means right? / isn't it? / doesn't he? / aren't we?

It replaces the whole family of English tag questions, which vary by verb and person. Portuguese has one tag for everything.

• Está caro, né? — It's expensive, right?
• Você é do Brasil, né? — You're from Brazil, right?
• A gente paga aqui, né? — We pay here, right?

né is also used as a filler mid-sentence with no question meaning at all. Recognise it; do not translate it every time.

3. Question words

Word order: question word first, then the ordinary statement.

Onde fica o banheiro? Quanto custa? Por que você não vai?

No inversion. Onde você está? — not Onde está você? (which is also correct but sounds bookish).

4. o que and the double que

o que = what. In speech Brazilians add an extra que:

The extra que carries no meaning. It is a rhythm filler. Recognise it — you will hear it constantly, and it sounds like a single blurred word: ó-KEH-kee.

At the end of a sentence, o que becomes o quê: Você quer o quê?

5. qual vs o que

Trap: What's your name? is **Qual** é o seu nome?, never O que é o seu nome?. Same for Qual é o problema? and Qual é o preço?.

6. por que — the four spellings

All four sound the same: poor-KEH. This matters only for reading and writing.

7. cadê — the shortcut

cadê + noun = Where is…?

It is a worn-down contraction of the old que é de…? — what is of…?

No verb needed. Cadê a chave? = Where's the key? This is informal, extremely common, and the fastest question in the language.

8. quanto agreement

quanto agrees when it modifies a noun, and is fixed at quanto when it stands alone with a verb.

• Quanto custa? — How much does it cost? (fixed)
• Quantos dias? — How many days? (masculine plural)
• Quantas pessoas? — How many people? (feminine plural)

9. Asking politely

Bare questions can sound blunt. Two softeners:

• Open with Com licença (excuse me) or Por favor
• Wrap the question in Você sabe se… / Você sabe onde… — Do you know if / where…

Você sabe onde fica o banheiro? is warmer than Onde fica o banheiro? at identical cost.

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Examples

Yes/no

onde and cadê

quanto

o que and qual

quando, como, quem, por que

Softened questions

né? tags

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What to take from this chapter

1. No inversion, no auxiliary. Statement + question mark.
2. Question word goes first, then the normal sentence.
3. Qual é o seu nome? — never o que for names, numbers, or prices.
4. Cadê X? is the fastest way to ask where something is.
5. Você sabe… in front of any question makes it polite for free.
6. né? covers every English tag question.