A1 · Questions and negation
The question words
« What is your name? » asks with « which » here.
At a glance
- Remember
- é que costs nothing and saves the word order.
- Form
- quem é?who is that?
- Signal words
- quem
- o que
- onde
- quando
- porquê
- é que
- Trap
- Wrong:Como é o teu número de telefone?Right:Qual é o teu número de telefone?
Your turn
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The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese.
negation
| who is that? | quem é? |
| what are you doing? | o que é que fazes? |
| where do you live? | onde é que moras? |
| when do you arrive? | quando chegas? |
| why did you not come? | porque não vieste? |
| which do you prefer? | qual preferes? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
é que may always follow the question word.
Onde é que fica a estação?Where is the station?
Without é que the subject moves behind the verb.
Onde fica a estação?Where is the station?
porquê stands alone, porque opens the sentence.
Não vieste, porquê?You did not come — why?
qual asks about a choice.
Qual é o teu número?What is your number?
Example sentences
Quem é aquela senhora ao pé da janela?Who is that lady by the window?
O que é que queres beber?What would you like to drink?
Quantos anos tem o teu irmão?How old is your brother?
Como é que se chega ao centro daqui?How do you get to the centre from here?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Qual é o teu número? is « what is your number? » — Portuguese asks with « which » where English asks with « what ». The same with qual é o teu nome? and qual é a tua morada?. Reach for como, which is the word for « how », and you have asked what sort of thing it is rather than what it is; reach for que and you have asked about its kind. The rule behind it: a question with a known set of possible answers takes qual.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Quem (who), que or o que(what)onde(where)quando(when)como(how)porquê(why)quanto(how much)qual(which)
É que nearly always follows: onde é que moras?, o que é que fazes? It means nothing and can be dropped — but without it the subject has to move behind the verb, and that is exactly what spoken Portuguese is avoiding.
Porquê and porque are two different words. Porque opens a sentence in a question and means « because » in an answer; porquê stands alone at the end: porque não vieste? against não vieste, porquê?
And qual asks about a choice while que asks about a kind: qual preferes? (« which of these? ») against que livro é este? (« what sort of book is that? »).
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The verbs on this page, in every form: ser · ter · ficar · chegar · vir · querer · beber