Você quer brindar comigo hoje?

Do you want to toast with me today?

Breakdown of Você quer brindar comigo hoje?

• você: you
• querer: to want
• hoje: today
• com: with
• mim: me
• brindar: to toast

Questions & Answers about Você quer brindar comigo hoje?

What does brindar mean in this sentence?

Brindar here means to make a toast—that is, to clink glasses and celebrate. It’s equivalent to “to toast” in English.

Why is comigo used instead of com mim or com eu?

In Portuguese, the preposition com combines with certain pronouns to form special contractions:

• com
  • mim → comigo
• com
  • nós → conosco
    You should never say com mim or com eu—comigo is the only correct form.

What is the function of quer in the sentence? Is it a conjugation of querer?

Yes, quer is the third-person singular present indicative of querer (“to want”). When you address someone with você, you use quer (not quero, which is first person). So Você quer means You want.

Why use você here? Could I say tu instead?

Você is the standard informal/formal “you” in most of Brazil. Tu is used in some regions (Rio Grande do Sul, parts of the North), but if you’re unsure, stick with você. If you do use tu, you must also change the verb:

• Tu queres brindar comigo hoje?

Why is hoje placed at the end of the sentence? Can I put it elsewhere?

Portuguese is flexible with adverb placement. You can say:

• Você quer hoje brindar comigo?
• Hoje você quer brindar comigo?
  But putting hoje at the end (…brindar comigo hoje?) is very natural in spoken language—it keeps the main action together and then adds the time.

Can I use fazer um brinde instead of brindar?

Absolutely. Fazer um brinde is a noun-verb phrase meaning “to make a toast.” You’d say:

• Você quer fazer um brinde comigo hoje?
  The meaning is identical; brindar is just more concise.

How would I say “I want to toast with you tomorrow”?

Switching to first person and changing the time:

• Eu quero brindar com você amanhã.

Any pronunciation tips for brindar, você, and comigo?

• brindar: brin-DAR (stress on the second syllable; the r at the end sounds like a soft “h” in most Brazilian accents)
• você: voh-SEH (the cê is like “seh”)
• comigo: koh-MEE-goo (the g is hard, like in “go”)