A wh-question (pergunta parcial or pergunta de resposta aberta) asks for a specific piece of information — a person, thing, place, time, reason, manner, or quantity. It opens with a question word (quem, que, qual, onde, como, quando, quanto, porque). European Portuguese has two equally natural patterns for wh-questions: the compact pattern (Onde vais?) and the é que-frame pattern (Onde é que vais?). The second is the conversational default — so native it's almost invisible to native speakers. Below we cover both patterns, every wh-word, and the major pitfalls.
The wh-words at a glance
| Word | Asks for | Rough English |
|---|---|---|
| quem | person | who, whom |
| que / o que | thing, definition | what |
| qual / quais | selection from a set | which |
| onde | place (location) | where |
| aonde | place (direction, with movement verbs) | to where |
| de onde / donde | place of origin | from where |
| quando | time | when |
| como | manner, condition, means | how |
| quanto / quanta / quantos / quantas | quantity | how much, how many |
| porque / por que | reason | why |
| para que | purpose | what for |
Porque and por que are not interchangeable in writing after AO90 — they serve different functions, detailed below.
Pattern 1: the compact pattern
The simplest wh-question places the wh-word at the front, followed by the verb and any complements. No auxiliary is inserted.
Onde moras?
Where do you live?
Quando chegaste?
When did you arrive?
Como te chamas?
What's your name? (literally: how do you call yourself?)
Porque choras?
Why are you crying?
Quanto custa?
How much does it cost?
This pattern is neutral and works in every register. It's the form you'll see in writing, newspaper headlines, and formal speech.
Pattern 2: the é que frame
European Portuguese speakers very often expand the compact pattern by inserting é que between the wh-word and the rest of the sentence. Nothing about the meaning changes; the result is more colloquial, more natural-sounding, and slightly more emphatic.
Onde é que moras?
Where do you live?
Quando é que chegaste?
When did you arrive?
Como é que te chamas?
What's your name?
Porque é que choras?
Why are you crying?
Quanto é que custa?
How much does it cost?
The é que frame is the default in spoken European Portuguese — so common that speakers often don't hear themselves using it. Think of it like English "it is that..." gone conversational: "Where is it that you live?" is a clunky gloss, but structurally it's what's happening. É que is invariable — it never changes to são que or foi que, even with a plural subject or a past tense.
Onde é que eles estão?
Where are they?
Quando é que tu saíste?
When did you leave?
Quem — who / whom
Quem é aquela senhora?
Who is that lady?
Quem é que fez isto?
Who did this?
Com quem é que falaste?
Who did you talk to?
De quem é este casaco?
Whose coat is this?
Notice that in Portuguese the preposition stays with quem at the front of the question. Unlike English, you cannot strand the preposition at the end ("who did you talk to?"). It's always com quem, de quem, a quem, para quem.
Que and o que — what
Que and o que both mean "what." The bare que is more common in fixed expressions and before a noun. O que is more common as a standalone pronoun and in spoken EP.
Que dia é hoje?
What day is it today?
Que horas são?
What time is it?
O que é isto?
What is this?
O que é que queres?
What do you want?
Before a noun, stick with bare que: que livro, que filme, que dia. Standing alone as a pronoun, o que is more natural in speech: o que disseste? rather than que disseste?.
Qual / quais — which
Qual asks you to select from a set. It agrees in number with the noun it refers to: qual (singular), quais (plural).
Qual é a tua cor preferida?
What's your favourite colour? (which one from all colours)
Quais são os teus livros favoritos?
Which are your favourite books?
Qual preferes: o branco ou o tinto?
Which do you prefer: white or red?
English "what" and Portuguese qual often overlap in meaning but not in form. "What's your name?" in Portuguese is typically Como te chamas? or Qual é o teu nome? — never O que é o teu nome? (that would sound like you don't know what a name is).
Onde, aonde, donde / de onde — where
Portuguese distinguishes location, direction, and origin.
Onde é que está a minha chave?
Where is my key? (location)
Aonde vais?
Where are you going? (direction)
De onde é que és?
Where are you from? (origin)
Aonde is specifically used with movement verbs (ir, vir, levar, trazer). In contemporary usage, many speakers simplify to onde for all three meanings, but careful writing still distinguishes them.
Onde ficas hoje à noite?
Where are you staying tonight?
Aonde me levas?
Where are you taking me?
Quando — when
Quando é que a reunião começa?
When does the meeting start?
Até quando ficas em Lisboa?
Until when are you staying in Lisbon?
Desde quando é que o conheces?
Since when have you known him?
Como — how
Como asks about manner, means, or condition. It also opens a large number of fixed conversational formulas.
Como é que vieste para cá?
How did you get here?
Como estás?
How are you?
Como se diz 'thank you' em português?
How do you say 'thank you' in Portuguese?
Como assim?
What do you mean? (literally: how so?)
Quanto — how much / how many
Quanto agrees with the noun it quantifies: quanto (masc. sg.), quanta (fem. sg.), quantos (masc. pl.), quantas (fem. pl.).
Quanto custa?
How much does it cost?
Quantas pessoas vêm?
How many people are coming?
Quantos anos tens?
How old are you? (how many years do you have?)
Quanto tempo demora?
How long does it take?
Porque vs. por que — why
Since the AO90 orthographic agreement, European Portuguese writes the asking why as porquê when it stands alone at the end (Porquê?), porque when followed by the rest of the question, and por que when a preposition plus relative que is meant (usually "for which" or "for what reason" — more literary). The answer connector is also porque (because).
Porquê?
Why? (standalone)
Porque é que estás triste?
Why are you sad?
Não sei porque é que ele não veio.
I don't know why he didn't come.
— Porque não comes? — Porque não tenho fome.
— Why aren't you eating? — Because I'm not hungry.
The short form porquê with the circumflex is required when the word ends the sentence or stands alone. Without the circumflex (porque), it means "because" as a connector.
Embedded (indirect) wh-questions
When a wh-question is embedded inside another sentence, it becomes a subordinate clause. Word order stays declarative (subject before verb), and you do not use é que.
Ele quer saber onde vais.
He wants to know where you're going.
Não sei o que ele disse.
I don't know what he said.
Pergunta-lhe quando é que chega.
Ask him when he arrives.
The third example shows that é que can appear in embedded questions in spoken EP — but careful writing avoids it. In exams and formal writing, drop é que in embedded questions.
Pergunto-me por que razão ele faria isso.
I wonder for what reason he would do that. (formal)
Clitic placement in wh-questions
Wh-words are proclisis triggers. An object pronoun in a wh-question sits before the verb, not after.
Quem te disse isso?
Who told you that?
Onde o encontraste?
Where did you find him?
Como se chama?
What's his/her name? (literally: how does he/she call himself/herself?)
Porque lhe ligaste?
Why did you call him/her?
With the é que frame, the clitic goes before the verb of the clause the question is asking about, not before é que:
Quem é que te disse isso?
Who told you that?
Onde é que o encontraste?
Where did you find him?
Questions in speech: rising then falling intonation
Wh-questions, unlike yes/no questions, typically have a rising-then-falling contour. The pitch peaks on the wh-word (or on the é que of the frame) and then descends across the rest of the question. This is the opposite of English, where wh-questions tend to end with a slight fall on the final content word.
Onde é que vais?
Where are you going? (peak on onde, descent toward vais)
Quem é que te ligou ontem?
Who called you yesterday? (peak on quem)
Register notes
- Colloquial: é que frames dominate (Onde é que moras?); clipped forms common (Quem? Onde? Quando?).
- Neutral written: drop é que in most cases; full sentences.
- Formal / academic: compact pattern; no é que; embedded questions are the norm.
Common Mistakes
❌ Quem tu viste?
Incorrect — word order doesn't work in Portuguese.
✅ Quem é que tu viste? / Quem viste?
Who did you see?
The compact pattern simply drops the pronoun tu (Quem viste?). If you keep the subject, insert é que to make the sentence flow: Quem é que tu viste?.
❌ Quem foste tu a falar com?
Incorrect — preposition stranded at the end.
✅ Com quem é que tu falaste?
Who did you talk to?
Portuguese does not strand prepositions. Com quem (with whom), para quem (for whom), de quem (of whom / whose) — the preposition always travels with quem to the front.
❌ O que é o teu nome?
Incorrect — calque from English 'what is your name?'
✅ Como te chamas? / Qual é o teu nome?
What's your name?
English "what" doesn't map onto Portuguese o que in this idiom. Use como te chamas or qual é o teu nome.
❌ Porque é que ele não veio? — Porquê ele estava doente.
Incorrect accent on the answer.
✅ Porque é que ele não veio? — Porque estava doente.
Why didn't he come? — Because he was sick.
The accented porquê is only for the standalone question. In "because" answers, write porque without an accent.
❌ Ele perguntou onde é que eu ia.
Common in speech, but avoid in formal writing.
✅ Ele perguntou onde eu ia.
He asked where I was going.
In embedded questions, careful writing omits é que. This is a register matter: both are understood, but formal Portuguese drops it.
❌ Quanto pessoas vêm?
Incorrect — no agreement.
✅ Quantas pessoas vêm?
How many people are coming?
Quanto agrees with the noun: quantas pessoas, quantos livros, quanta água. Forgetting agreement here is a classic slip.
Key Takeaways
- Wh-questions start with the wh-word, which may be followed by the optional é que frame.
- No do-support, no inversion — if you know the statement, you know the question.
- Prepositions stay attached to the wh-word at the front (com quem, de onde, para que).
- Porquê (standalone) and porque (connected) are distinct spellings post-AO90.
- Wh-words trigger proclisis — object pronouns precede the verb.
- Embedded questions keep statement word order; formal writing drops é que.
Related Topics
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — How to ask questions that expect sim or não — using intonation, the é que frame, and echo-verb answers.
- Embedded QuestionsB1 — Questions inside larger sentences — não sei onde ele mora, perguntou se eu ia, with declarative word order and no inversion.
- Indirect QuestionsB1 — Reporting questions inside declarative sentences — with perguntar, querer saber, and não saber, using statement word order, se for yes/no, and tense backshift in past reports.
- Questions OverviewA1 — How to form questions in European Portuguese — an orienting tour of the three main types (yes/no, tag, and wh-questions), the crucial fact that Portuguese does not use do-support or subject-verb inversion, and a map of the dedicated pages that go deeper.
- 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.