Asking questions is one of the first things a beginner needs to do in any language — and in European Portuguese it is refreshingly simple to start with, because the single biggest grammatical hurdle that English puts between you and a question is not there. Portuguese has no equivalent of do-support (no need for do, does, did to form a question) and no subject-verb inversion in everyday speech. If you know how to say the statement, you almost know how to ask the question — you just change the intonation.
This page is the orienting tour. It introduces the three main types of questions, shows you the one structural fact that matters most, and points you to the dedicated pages for each question word. Every claim here is expanded somewhere else; use this page to get the map.
The one thing to internalise first
Portuguese statement and Portuguese yes/no question have the same word order.
Compare:
Tu falas português.
You speak Portuguese. (statement)
Tu falas português?
Do you speak Portuguese? (question — same word order, just rising intonation)
O Pedro já chegou.
Pedro has already arrived. (statement)
O Pedro já chegou?
Has Pedro arrived yet? (question — same word order)
Notice what did not happen. No auxiliary appeared at the front of the sentence. No subject-verb flip. No does or has inserted out of nowhere. English requires all three of those transformations to form a question; Portuguese requires none of them.
In writing, the question is marked by the question mark (?). In speech, it is marked by rising intonation at the end of the sentence — the pitch climbs on the last stressed syllable and stays elevated. The rest is identical to a statement.
This is genuinely the hardest thing for English speakers to unlearn. Even after weeks of lessons, many students will instinctively try to flip something — "Is you speaking Portuguese?" — because English trains the reflex so deeply. Resist that instinct. Statement word order is also question word order.
The three types of questions
Portuguese, like most languages, has three basic question types. Each one has its own page in this section of the guide; below is the big picture.
1. Yes/no questions — the answer is sim or não
These ask whether something is or is not the case. The expected answer is sim (yes) or não (no), though European Portuguese very often answers with the echo-verb pattern — repeating the main verb of the question as an acknowledgement.
Queres café?
Do you want coffee?
— Queres café? — Quero, obrigado.
— Do you want coffee? — Yes, thanks. (literally: 'I want, thanks' — echo-verb answer)
Vais ao cinema hoje à noite?
Are you going to the cinema tonight?
Conheces o irmão da Maria?
Do you know Maria's brother?
Yes/no questions are formed in two main ways in PT-PT:
- Intonation only (the everyday default) — see yes/no questions with intonation.
- With será que — a speculative opener that softens the question and hedges ("I wonder whether..."). Será que ele vem? = "Is he coming, do you think?"
2. Tag questions — confirmation seekers
A tag question turns a statement into a request for confirmation by appending a short tag. English has a whole arsenal of these (isn't it? don't you? haven't they? right?), each requiring careful matching with the main verb. Portuguese has one reliable workhorse — não é? — plus a few alternatives.
Está um belo dia, não é?
It's a lovely day, isn't it?
Tu já viste este filme, não foi?
You've already seen this film, haven't you?
Ele mora no Porto, não mora?
He lives in Porto, doesn't he?
Não é? is the default and works with almost any statement regardless of verb or tense. The fuller pattern (não foi?, não mora?) matches the main verb of the statement — optional, more emphatic, and slightly more careful in register. For the full picture, see tag questions with não é?.
3. Wh-questions — information questions
A wh-question is introduced by an interrogative word (quem, que, o que, onde, quando, porquê, como, quanto, qual) and asks for a specific piece of information. Like yes/no questions, they do not require inversion in their simplest form, though inversion and the é que frame are both available for stylistic effect.
Quem é aquele senhor?
Who is that gentleman?
Onde moras?
Where do you live?
Quando chegaste?
When did you arrive?
Quanto custa isto?
How much does this cost?
O que é que queres fazer hoje à noite?
What do you want to do tonight? (using the é que frame)
Each interrogative word has its own quirks and its own page in this guide. The tricky ones are que vs o que, porque vs porquê vs por que, onde vs aonde, and qual vs que (which/what) — each covered in a dedicated page.
The interrogative words at a glance
| Portuguese | English | Asks about | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| quem | who | people | quem |
| que / o que | what | things, concepts, identity | que / o que |
| onde | where | location (static) | onde / aonde |
| aonde | where to | direction / destination | onde / aonde |
| quando | when | time | quando |
| porque / porquê / por que | why | reason | porque vs por que vs porquê |
| como | how | manner, means, state | como |
| quanto / quanta / quantos / quantas | how much, how many | quantity | quanto / quanta |
| qual / quais | which | selection among known items | qual / quais |
Note that quanto and qual inflect: quanta for feminine singular, quantos for masculine plural, quantas for feminine plural; quais for plural. The others (quem, que, o que, onde, quando, porque, como) are invariable.
Three patterns for wh-questions
European Portuguese actually offers three syntactic options for wh-questions, which you will see constantly:
- Wh-word + statement word order: Onde tu moras?
- Wh-word + subject-verb inversion: Onde moras tu?
- Wh-word + é que
- statement word order
All three are grammatical, but they have different registers and frequencies. The é que frame (option 3) is the most common in everyday PT-PT speech — it is the native reflex. SV order (option 1) is colloquial and has risen sharply in contemporary speech. VS order with inversion (option 2) is formal, careful, and common in writing.
Onde moras?
Where do you live? (subject omitted — the conjugation makes 'tu' clear)
Onde é que tu moras?
Where do you live? (é que frame — conversational reflex)
Onde mora o teu irmão?
Where does your brother live? (VS inversion — neutral with third-person subjects)
Onde o teu irmão mora?
Where does your brother live? (SV order — increasingly common in speech)
The syntactic details of these three options are the subject of the interrogative inversion page. For now: use whichever feels natural, and know that when a native uses é que, they are not being emphatic — they are being casual.
Preposition + wh-word
Unlike English, Portuguese does not strand prepositions. When a question involves a preposition, the preposition comes in front of the interrogative word, not at the end.
Com quem estás a falar?
Who are you talking to? (literally: 'with whom are you talking')
De onde vens?
Where are you coming from? (literally: 'from where do you come')
Para quem é este presente?
Who is this present for? (literally: 'for whom is this present')
A que horas começa a reunião?
What time does the meeting start? (literally: 'at what hours')
English stranding (Who are you talking to? / Where are you from?) is simply ungrammatical in Portuguese. You must front the preposition with its interrogative. This is a reliable, consistent rule — no exceptions.
Answering questions
A quick note on answers, because PT-PT practice differs from what English speakers expect.
Yes/no answers
English answers yes or no and that is usually enough. Portuguese has sim and não, but the more natural answer in conversation is the echo-verb — repeating the verb of the question (affirmatively or with não).
— Vais ao cinema? — Vou.
— Are you going to the cinema? — Yes. (lit. 'I'm going')
— Conheces o Pedro? — Conheço. / Não conheço.
— Do you know Pedro? — Yes. / No. (lit. 'I know' / 'I don't know')
— Tens tempo amanhã? — Tenho, porquê?
— Do you have time tomorrow? — Yes, why?
Sim alone is slightly terse and often sounds curt. Sim, tenho or just tenho feels more natural. See yes/no questions with intonation for the rhythms of these exchanges.
Wh-answers
For wh-questions, you give the piece of information requested.
— Onde moras? — No Porto.
— Where do you live? — In Porto.
— Quando chegaste? — Ontem à noite.
— When did you arrive? — Last night.
Punctuation and spelling
A few practical notes.
- Portuguese uses only a closing question mark (?). Unlike Spanish, there is no inverted opening ¿.
- Direct questions end in ?; indirect questions (embedded in a larger sentence) end in a full stop.
Sabes onde ele mora?
Do you know where he lives? (direct question: ?)
Não sei onde ele mora.
I don't know where he lives. (indirect — no ?)
Perguntou-me se eu queria café.
He asked me if I wanted coffee. (reported question — no ?)
Indirect and reported questions are covered on the indirect questions page.
Quick cheat sheet
| What you want to ask | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/no question | statement + rising intonation + ? | Falas português? |
| Yes/no question (speculative) | será que + statement | Será que ele vem? |
| Tag question | statement + , não é? | Falas português, não é? |
| Wh-question (casual) | wh-word + é que + statement | O que é que queres? |
| Wh-question (neutral) | wh-word + verb (+ subject) | O que queres? / O que quer o Pedro? |
| Wh-question (formal) | wh-word + verb + subject | Quando chegou o comboio? |
| Preposition + wh | preposition + wh-word + rest | De onde vens? / Com quem estás? |
Common mistakes
❌ Faz tu gostas de café?
Portuguese has no do-support — do not invent a do-equivalent at the front of the sentence.
✅ Gostas de café?
Do you like coffee?
❌ Queres o que?
The o que phrase fronts to the start of a wh-question; preposition-stranding is ungrammatical in Portuguese.
✅ O que queres? / O que é que queres?
What do you want?
❌ Quem estás a falar com?
Preposition stranding does not exist in Portuguese — the preposition stays with the interrogative word.
✅ Com quem estás a falar?
Who are you talking to?
❌ És tu falas português?
Do not insert a form of ser to make a question — the statement word order is already the question.
✅ Tu falas português?
Do you speak Portuguese?
❌ Onde mora?
Ambiguous — could be anyone. In PT-PT, either supply the subject, drop it clearly, or use the é que frame.
✅ Onde mora o teu irmão? / Onde moras (tu)? / Onde é que tu moras?
Where does your brother live? / Where do you live?
❌ ¿Falas português?
Portuguese does not use the inverted question mark — that is Spanish.
✅ Falas português?
Do you speak Portuguese?
Key takeaways
- No do-support, no inversion in basic Portuguese questions. A yes/no question has the same word order as the statement.
- Written marking: only a closing ?. Spoken marking: rising intonation on the last stressed syllable.
- Three types of questions: yes/no (expecting sim/não), tag questions (não é?), and wh-questions (with an interrogative word).
- Interrogative words: quem, que/o que, onde/aonde, quando, porque/porquê, como, quanto/quanta, qual/quais. Some inflect (quanto, qual), most do not.
- Three syntactic patterns for wh-questions: SV order (colloquial), VS inversion (formal), or the é que frame (conversational PT-PT reflex).
- Prepositions front with the wh-word — no stranding. Com quem, de onde, para quem, a que horas.
- Echo-verb answers (— Vais? — Vou.) are the natural PT-PT way to answer yes/no questions.
- Indirect questions use the same interrogative word but end in a full stop, not a question mark.
Related Topics
- Yes/No Questions with IntonationA1 — How European Portuguese turns a statement into a yes/no question with rising pitch alone — the intonation contour, examples in every person, the absence of do-support, politeness softeners, and the conversational rhythms of question and answer.
- Yes/No Questions with Não é?A1 — How European Portuguese forms tag questions and confirmation seekers — não é?, pois, pois não?, está bem?, percebes?, sim? — including the almost-universal invariable tag não é? (reduced in speech to /nɛ/) and the pragmatic work these tags do beyond grammar.
- Questions with Quem (Who)A1 — How European Portuguese asks about people — the invariable pronoun quem as subject and object, combined with prepositions (de quem, com quem, a quem, para quem) that must move to the front of the sentence since PT-PT never strands prepositions.
- Questions with Que / O Que (What)A1 — How European Portuguese asks about things and concepts — the distinction between que + noun (which book?), o que (what do you do?), stressed o quê at the end of utterances, and the colloquial é que reinforcement that makes PT-PT what in speech almost universally o que é que.
- Questions with Onde / Aonde (Where)A1 — How European Portuguese asks about location, direction, and origin — the static onde (where?), the dynamic aonde / para onde (where to?), and the origin de onde (where from?). Covers the PT-PT tendency to use onde for both location and destination, with para onde as the preferred direction form.
- Questions with Quando (When)A1 — How European Portuguese asks about time — the invariable interrogative quando, its combinations with prepositions (desde quando, até quando, para quando, de quando), its dual role as both an interrogative and a subordinating conjunction, and the signature PT-PT quando é que reinforcement used in nearly all spoken questions.
- Porque vs Por que vs Porquê (Why)A2 — The four forms used to ask and answer why in European Portuguese — porque, por que, porquê, and por quê — with rules for each and honest notes on the PT-PT vs PT-BR split.
- Questions with Como (How)A1 — Using como to ask about manner, means, state, description, and as a standalone request for repetition in European Portuguese.
- Questions with Quanto/Quanta (How much/many)A1 — Using quanto, quanta, quantos, and quantas to ask about quantity, duration, price, and degree — with full agreement rules and the idiomatic uses Portuguese speakers use every day.
- Questions with Qual/Quais (Which)A2 — Using qual and quais to ask about selection and identification — and why PT-PT uses qual where English often says what.