Requests and imperatives

How to ask for things without sounding like a command. This chapter is mostly fixed phrases, which is the right way to learn it — the underlying grammar (the subjunctive) is not worth unpacking for something you will use as a unit.

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Grammar

1. The politeness ladder

Five ways to ask for a coffee, from blunt to formal:

Eu queria is the workhorse. It is the imperfect of querer (ch. 15), it is polite without being stiff, and it fits every situation from a bakery to a doctor's office. If you learn one form from this chapter, learn this one.

2. Me vê and Me dá — the Brazilian ordering idiom

Me vê + thing — literally show me, functionally I'll have

Extremely common in bars, bakeries, and casual restaurants. Warm, not rude.

• Me vê um café
• Me vê duas cervejas
• Me vê a conta

Me dá (give me) works the same way and is slightly more direct: Me dá um café.

Both use the plain present tense form of the verb — no imperative needed.

3. Você pode…? and Dá pra…?

The two general-purpose request frames.

Poderia (poh-deh-REE-ah) is the conditional of poder. Treat it as a fixed word, not a tense to learn.

4. Eu gostaria de — the conditional

The conditional exists and you need exactly two forms of it:

• gostaria de — I would like
• poderia — could you

Both are formed by adding -ia to the infinitive (gostar + ia, poder + ia). You do not need the rest of the tense. Eu gostaria de always takes de before a noun or verb, because gostar always takes de.

5. Real imperatives

You will hear these more than you say them. Brazilian spoken Portuguese has two imperative styles:

In practice Brazilians overwhelmingly use the informal spoken form with você. Both are understood.

Negative commands always use the subjunctive form:

• **Não fale** — don't speak (not não fala, though you'll hear that too)
• **Não vá** — don't go
• **Não faça** isso — don't do that

6. Softening a command

Adding any of these turns an imperative into a request:

• por favor — Espera, por favor
• aí — Espera aí — very common. aí literally means there, where you are (ch. 02), so this is "wait there", used exactly like English hang on a second.
• um pouquinho — Espera um pouquinho (see ch. 21)
• Me + verb — Me ajuda sounds softer than Ajude

Espera aí (es-PEH-rah ah-EE) — literally wait there — is one of the most common phrases in Brazilian Portuguese. It means hang on a second.

7. Offering and accepting

Pode ser (PAW-jee sehr) — literally it can be — is the standard Brazilian sure, that works. Learn it.

8. pois não — the shopkeeper's opening

You will hear Pois não? (poys nowng) constantly. Despite containing não, it means yes? how can I help you? It is what a waiter or clerk says when approaching you. Recognition only.

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Examples

Ordering

Asking for help

Asking permission

Giving directions and instructions

Mostly for recognition — these will be said to you.

Negative commands

Accepting and declining

The whole ladder, one situation

Asking a hotel to hold your bag:

All five are acceptable. Eu queria and Posso cover almost every situation you will meet.

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What to take from this chapter

1. Eu queria… is the everyday polite request. Use it for everything.
2. Me vê… to order. Posso…? to ask permission. Você pode…? / Dá pra…? to ask a favour.
3. Poderia and gostaria de are your only two conditional forms. Learn them as words.
4. Brazilians use the plain present as an informal imperative: Fala, Espera, Vai.
5. Espera aí and Pode ser are the two highest-frequency phrases here.
6. Pois não? means how can I help you, not no.