‘Que’ to Express Emotion
We use ‘que’ before nouns to express emotion:
- 😠 Que homem antipático! (What a rude man!)
- 🌷 Que dia lindo! (What a beautiful day!)
It’s also used before adjectives to express surprise or astonishment:
- 🤯 Que estranho! (How strange!)
- 🤓 Que interessante! (How interesting!)
- 😃 Que fácil! (How easy!)
‘Que’ in Questions
‘Que,’ ‘O que,’ and ‘O quê’ are all equivalent to the English question word ‘what.’
Que..?
Used before a noun to determine something. Often followed by ‘é que’ (is it that) in open-ended questions:
- 📚 “Que livro estás a ler?” or “Que livro é que estás a ler?” (What book are you reading?)
- 🍿 “Que filme queres ver?” or “Que filme é que queres ver?” (What movie do you want to watch?)
- ⏰ Que horas são? (What time is it?)
O que…?
Used when asking for descriptions or explanations, followed by a verb:
- 🤷♂️ “O que preferes?” or “O que é que preferes?” (What do you prefer?)
- 😲 “O que aconteceu?” or “O que é que aconteceu?” (What happened?)
- 👆 O que é isto? (What is this?)
O quê?
Stands alone and is pronounced with a more open sound. Used to question what was said before, ask for repetition, or indicate astonishment:
- 🙋♀️ O quê? Pode repetir, por favor? (What? Can you repeat, please?)
- 😡 O quê? Isso é inadmissível. (What? That is unacceptable.)
‘Que’ as a Relative Pronoun (That, Which, Who)
‘Que’ is versatile, working for both people and objects to mean ‘that,’ ‘which,’ and ‘who.’ It links two sentences by referring back to a preceding element:
- 👌 Já li o livro que me deste. (I have already read the book that you gave me.)
- 💡 As ideias que ele apresentou são boas. (The ideas which he presented are good.)
- 👩 Ela é a mulher que conheci no ano passado. (She’s the woman who I met last year.)
We can replace the noun with a definite article (o, a, os, as), resulting in ‘o que’ and its variations:
- 🤓 Já li o que me deste. (I have already read the one that you gave me.)
- 👍 As que ele apresentou são boas. (The ones that he presented are good.)
‘O que’ can also refer to an entire clause or phrase, meaning ‘which’:
- 📉 A empresa faliu, o que foi uma surpresa. (The company went bankrupt, which was a surprise.)
‘O que’ can also mean ‘what’:
- 🧐 Já sei o que aconteceu. (I already know what happened.
- 💥 O que aconteceu foi um escândalo. (What happened was a scandal.)
Conjunction ‘Que’ to Provide a Reason
‘Que’ can provide a reason, equivalent to ‘porque’ (because, since):
- 🙅♂️ Não voltes a gritar, que não gosto. (Don’t scream again, since I don’t like it.)
- 🤢 Não comas isso, que está estragado. (Don’t eat that, because it’s spoilt.)
Conjunction ‘Que’ to Indicate a Consequence
‘Que’ can indicate a consequence:
- 🥶 Ontem estava tanto frio que nem saí de casa. (Yesterday it was so cold that I didn’t even leave the house.)
- 🚶♂️ Eu andei tanto, que me doem os pés. (I’ve walked so much, that my feet hurt.)
Conjunction ‘Que’ to Make Comparisons
‘Que’ serves an important function in comparisons:
- ❄️ Hoje está mais frio que ontem. (Today is colder than yesterday.)
‘Do que’ is also used in comparisons:
- 🧊 Hoje está mais frio do que ontem. (Today is colder than yesterday.)
Other Uses of ‘Que’
‘Que’ is part of many conjunctive phrases:
- Antes que (before):
🏃♂️ Entra antes que fechem a porta. (Come in before they close the door.) - Logo que (as soon as):
🏠 Avisa-me logo que chegues a casa. (Let me know as soon as you arrive home.) - Sempre que (every time [that]):
👨👩👧👦 Ele visita-me sempre que pode. (He visits me every time [that] he can.) - Já que / uma vez que (since):
🗑️ Leva o lixo, já que vais sair. (Take out the rubbish, since you’re going out.) - Mesmo que (even if):
☔ Vou sair mesmo que chova. (I’m going out, even if it rains.) - Para que (so that):
👩🍳 Ponho açúcar para que fique doce. (I add sugar so that it gets sweet.)
Now that we’ve explored the versatility of ‘que’ in European Portuguese, you should have a better understanding of how to use it. For the advantage of hearing European Portuguese pronunciation, be sure to watch our video on the topic.
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