Question Words in Portuguese
Question words such as ‘o que?’ (what), ‘quando?’ (when?), ‘quem?’ (who), initiate open-ended questions, and correspond to Portuguese interrogative adverbs and interrogative pronouns. Although they belong to different parts of speech, we present them together as question words.
In open-ended questions, it is common to place 'é que' (is it that) before the verb. This is optional but very common. In those cases, 'é que' is presented between brackets.
All the examples below are of direct questions, but the same words are used in indirect questions.
- Direct question:
- 👗 Onde compraste esse vestido? (Where did you buy that dress?)
- Indirect question:
- 🛍️ Podes dizer-me onde compraste esse vestido? (Can you tell me where you bought that dress?)
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Quando, onde, como, porquê, quem, qual, quanto. Portuguese question words with real examples, and the é que that so often sits in front of the verb.
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