Você está assistindo ao filme com Ana?

Are you watching the movie with Ana?

Breakdown of Você está assistindo ao filme com Ana?

• Ana: Ana
• você: you
• com: with
• o filme: the movie
• estar assistindo: to be watching
• ao: to the

Questions & Answers about Você está assistindo ao filme com Ana?

Why is assistindo followed by ao in this sentence?

In Portuguese, the verb assistir often requires the preposition a when you’re talking about watching something. The word ao is a contraction of a + o (filme). Since o filme is masculine, a + o becomes ao.

Can I just say Você está assistindo o filme com Ana? without using ao?

In everyday conversation, some Brazilians do say assistir o filme without the a, but this is considered less grammatically correct. Grammatically speaking, assistir takes the preposition a, so you’ll hear assistindo ao filme or assistindo o filme in different contexts, but the more accepted form in standard Portuguese is assistindo ao filme.

Why do we use está assistindo instead of assiste here?

The construction você está assistindo is the present continuous (or progressive) tense. It emphasizes that the action of watching is unfolding at the moment. If you say você assiste ao filme, that uses the simple present tense, which may imply a more habitual action rather than one happening right now.

Is it common in Portuguese to use você for asking questions?

Yes, especially in Brazilian Portuguese. Você is the most common way to address someone directly in everyday situations. In some regions of Brazil and in Portugal, you might also hear tu, but você is very widely used in Brazil.

How do I change it if I want to ask if I am watching the movie with Ana?

You would say: Eu estou assistindo ao filme com Ana? or, more naturally, Estou assistindo ao filme com Ana? Either construction is fine, but note the switch from você to eu.

Why is Ana placed at the end?

In Portuguese, it’s natural and quite common to place the person you’re doing something with after the direct object. You could also say Você está assistindo com Ana ao filme?, but it’s less common. Placing com Ana at the end flows more naturally for most Brazilian speakers.