Por favor, chame o porteiro agora.

Please call the doorman now.

Breakdown of Por favor, chame o porteiro agora.

• agora: now
• por favor: please
• o porteiro: the doorman
• chamar: to call

Questions & Answers about Por favor, chame o porteiro agora.

Why is it chame and not chamar?

Chame is the conjugated verb form used to give a request/command. Chamar is the infinitive (to call). In Portuguese, you generally can’t use the infinitive alone as a direct command the way you might in English.

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What tense/mood is chame?

It’s the affirmative imperative form for você (and also used for o senhor / a senhora). Grammatically, that imperative form is built from the present subjunctive: (que você) chame.

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Who is being addressed—você, tu, or o senhor/a senhora?

The form chame matches commands to você (common in Brazil) or the more formal o senhor/a senhora. If you were addressing tu, many Brazilians would say chama (depending on region), not chame.

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Can I say Por favor, chama o porteiro agora?

Yes, in places where people use tu-style commands (or in informal speech that mixes forms).

• Chame sounds more standard/polite (você/“formal command” feel).
• Chama sounds more informal.

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What does o mean here? Why not um porteiro?

O is the (definite article). o porteiro means a specific doorman/porter that both speaker and listener know (e.g., the building’s doorman). Um porteiro would mean a doorman (more generic/unspecified), which is less natural in this context.

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Does porteiro only mean a “doorman”?

Often yes, especially in apartment buildings/condos: porteiro is the person at the entrance/security desk. Depending on context, it can also be porter/gatekeeper—someone who controls access.

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How would I say “call the doorman (female)”?

Use the feminine form: Por favor, chame a porteira agora.
The articles also change: o → a.

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Does chame o porteiro mean call him on the phone, or ask him to come?

It can mean either, depending on situation:

• In a building context, it often means contact/summon the doorman (via intercom, phone, or calling system).
• If you’re talking about a phone call specifically, you might say Ligue para o porteiro (Call the doorman on the phone).

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Why isn’t there para in the sentence (like “call to the doorman”)?

Because chamar can take a direct object: chamar alguém = to call someone / summon someone. So o porteiro is directly the object of chame. If you use ligar (to phone), then you usually need para: Ligue para o porteiro.

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Where can por favor go? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, it’s flexible:

• Por favor, chame o porteiro agora.
• Chame o porteiro agora, por favor.
• Chame, por favor, o porteiro agora. (possible, a bit more marked)

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Is agora best at the end? Could it be earlier?

You can move it for emphasis:

• ... agora (common and neutral)
• Agora, chame o porteiro. (emphasizes “right now”)
• Chame agora o porteiro. (possible, slightly less natural than placing agora at the end)

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How would I make this sound softer/less like a command?

Common softeners:

• Você pode chamar o porteiro agora, por favor? (Can you call the doorman now, please?)
• Poderia chamar o porteiro agora, por favor? (More polite: Could you…?)
• Será que você pode chamar o porteiro agora? (Very common polite phrasing)

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How do I pronounce chame and porteiro (Brazil)?

Approximate pronunciation:

• chame ≈ SHAH-mee (the ch is like English sh)
• porteiro ≈ por-TAY-roo (final o often sounds like oo in many Brazilian accents)