Eu quero passar minhas férias em uma cidade bonita.

I want to spend my vacation in a beautiful city.

Breakdown of Eu quero passar minhas férias em uma cidade bonita.

• eu: I
• querer: to want
• uma: a
• a cidade: the city
• em: in
• bonito: beautiful
• passar: to spend
• minhas: my
• as férias: the vacation

Questions & Answers about Eu quero passar minhas férias em uma cidade bonita.

Why do we use férias in the plural instead of saying something like “férias” in the singular?

In Brazilian Portuguese, férias is always plural, even though in English you’d often say vacation in the singular. It’s simply how the language has evolved—Portuguese speakers view the concept as plural (similar to how we say óculos for “glasses,” always in plural form).

Is it necessary to include Eu at the beginning of the sentence, or can I just say Quero passar minhas férias em uma cidade bonita?

Including Eu is optional in most situations because the verb ending (quero) already indicates the subject. However, in more formal contexts or when you want to emphasize the subject, you might keep Eu.

What’s the difference between passar minhas férias and saying something like ficar nas minhas férias?

Passar minhas férias implies “spending my vacation,” focusing on the time you will spend there. Ficar nas minhas férias would mean “to stay during my vacation,” emphasizing staying in one place. They’re close in meaning, but passar is more commonly used when talking about how or where you will spend holidays.

Why do we use em uma cidade bonita instead of numa cidade bonita?

Em uma and numa are essentially the same in meaning: numa is a contraction of em + uma. Both are correct. Em uma might sound slightly more formal or deliberate, while numa is more colloquial, but they’re interchangeable in everyday speech.

What’s the difference between cidade bonita, cidade linda, and cidade bela?

All three words—bonita, linda, and bela—mean “beautiful.” Bonita is probably the most commonly used, linda often expresses a stronger degree of beauty, and bela is more poetic or formal. You can use any of them to convey the same idea with slightly different nuances.