Faça isso agora, por favor.

Do this now, please.

Breakdown of Faça isso agora, por favor.

• agora: now
• fazer: to do
• favor: favor
• por: for

Questions & Answers about Faça isso agora, por favor.

Why is the verb in the form faça instead of something like faz or fazer?

Faça is the present subjunctive/imperative form of the verb fazer used to give a polite command or request. In Brazilian Portuguese, faça is used when speaking more formally or respectfully (for instance, to someone you don’t know well), whereas faz would be the informal imperative and is more commonly used with friends or family.

Is faça isso agora formal or informal?

In most situations, faça isso agora is a more formal or polite way of telling someone to do something. If you are speaking to a friend or someone you are close to, you might say faz isso agora instead.

Why use isso instead of isto or aquilo?

Portuguese has three demonstrative pronouns (isto, isso, aquilo). Isso generally indicates something that’s not too close to the speaker but is within reach or context. Isto would refer to something very close to the speaker, and aquilo is used for things farther away in distance or context. In many everyday Brazilian Portuguese conversations, isso is commonly used for things that are being referred to in the immediate context, which is why we see faça isso agora.

Do people always add por favor when making a request?

Por favor (meaning please) is often added to requests in Portuguese to make them more polite, just like in English. However, whether or not it’s used depends on the level of formality, context, and your relationship with the person you’re speaking to. It’s generally advisable to add por favor if you want to sound more polite or respectful.