Será que esta viagem é mais cara ou mais barata do que a anterior?

I wonder if this trip is more expensive or cheaper than the previous one.

Breakdown of Será que esta viagem é mais cara ou mais barata do que a anterior?

• ser: to be
• ou: or
• esta: this
• a viagem: the trip
• do que: than
• será que: I wonder if
• mais caro: more expensive
• mais barato: cheaper
• anterior: previous

Questions & Answers about Será que esta viagem é mais cara ou mais barata do que a anterior?

Why do we use Será que at the beginning of the sentence rather than just asking Esta viagem é mais cara ou mais barata do que a anterior?

In Portuguese, Será que adds a sense of doubt or speculation. It softens the question by implying “I wonder if...” instead of a direct “Is it more expensive...?” It’s a common conversational way to introduce uncertainty.

Is Será que always used for yes/no questions, or can we use it in other kinds of questions as well?

You can certainly use Será que with yes/no questions, but it can also be used in other types of questions involving uncertainty. For example, Será que eles vão chegar amanhã? (“I wonder if they’ll arrive tomorrow?”). Essentially, it expresses curiosity or doubt in any question form.

What is the role of esta here? Could I use essa or esta interchangeably?

In Brazilian Portuguese, esta typically refers to something close to the speaker, while essa can refer to something nearer the listener. However, in casual conversation, people frequently mix them. Esta viagem suggests it’s the trip the speaker is currently talking about or experiencing. Technically, you could use essa if the trip is somewhat removed from you but still known to the other person.

How does mais function in mais cara ou mais barata?

Mais simply means “more.” In mais cara (“more expensive”) and mais barata (“cheaper,” literally “more cheap”), it’s used to form comparative adjectives, showing that you’re comparing the cost of this trip with the previous one.

Why is do que used here instead of just que?

When forming comparisons of superiority/inferiority (e.g., “more than,” “less than”), Portuguese uses do que or que. Strictly speaking, mais caro do que or mais caro que can both be acceptable, and they mean the same. In more formal or careful Portuguese, do que is commonly used before an explicit noun phrase (like a anterior), while que can appear more in casual speech.

Could we replace a anterior with a última and preserve the same meaning?

Yes, in most contexts you could say Será que esta viagem é mais cara ou mais barata do que a última? and it would also make sense. The slight difference is that a anterior focuses more on the immediately previous trip, while a última could mean the most recent trip, though both will usually work in a similar context.