Breakdown of Por favor, coloque o pão e o queijo na mesa antes de começar a comer.
você
you
o
the
a mesa
the table
comer
to eat
e
and
queijo
cheese
por favor
please
colocar
to place
pão
bread
na
on the
antes de
before
começar
to start
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Questions & Answers about Por favor, coloque o pão e o queijo na mesa antes de começar a comer.
Why do we use por favor at the start of the sentence?
por favor is a polite way to say “please” in Portuguese. You can often place it at the beginning or the end of a request, but starting with por favor tends to sound extra polite and direct.
Why is the verb in the imperative form (coloque) instead of a present tense form like coloca?
Portuguese has specific imperative forms for giving commands or making requests. Coloque is the formal imperative for “you” (você). Using coloca would be an informal second-person singular (tu) form in some dialects. In Brazil, however, the você form and its imperative (coloque) is generally preferred in polite or formal contexts.
Why is there an article (o) before pão and queijo?
In Portuguese, it’s very common to use definite articles (o, a, os, as) before nouns even when referring to generic items. While in English you might say “put bread and cheese on the table,” in Portuguese you’d typically say coloque o pão e o queijo. This article usage is a standard practice to specify the nouns in a general or definite sense.
Why do we say na mesa instead of “em mesa” or “na tabela”?
Na is a contraction of em + a (the preposition em plus the article a). Na mesa literally means “on the table.” Tabela in Portuguese usually refers to a chart or table of data, not the piece of furniture, so the correct term for a table you eat at is mesa.
Why do we use antes de começar a comer and not just antes começar a comer?
In Portuguese, when a verb like antes (“before”) is followed by another verb, you typically need de or da (depending on the structure). Here, antes de começar a comer indicates “before starting to eat.” In Portuguese, certain prepositions are necessary in this sequence to make it grammatically correct.