Sim, eu quero beber água.

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Breakdown of Sim, eu quero beber água.

• beber: to drink
• a água: the water
• querer: to want
• sim: yes

Questions & Answers about Sim, eu quero beber água.

Why do we use Sim at the beginning of the sentence?

Sim literally means "yes" in Portuguese, and it’s often used at the start of a sentence to affirm or confirm something. In casual conversation, you can simply say Sim, or use it before a full statement (like Sim, eu quero beber água) to reinforce the confirmation.

Why is the pronoun eu included here? I’ve seen sentences in Portuguese that omit it.

Portuguese is a pro-drop language, meaning subject pronouns can be omitted because the verb form often indicates who is speaking. However, many Portuguese speakers still use the pronoun eu for clarity or emphasis. Both Quero beber água and Eu quero beber água are correct.

How do we choose the verb form quero instead of querer?

Quero is the conjugation of querer in the first-person singular (eu) present tense. It matches eu (I). If you used querer, that would be the infinitive form, which is used differently (for example, after another conjugated verb: Eu vou querer).

Why do I say beber água and not just água to mean "drink water"?

In Portuguese, to express the idea of "to drink," you need the verb beber. Simply saying Eu quero água ("I want water") doesn’t explicitly indicate drinking. Adding beber clarifies that you want to drink it.

What is the accent on água for?

The accent on água (the acute accent on the first a) indicates the stressed syllable. Pronouncing it as AH-gua (with stress on the first syllable) is the correct way. Without the accent, you might shift stress or pronunciation, changing how the word sounds.