No balcão do hotel, a hóspede perguntou sobre o café da manhã e sobre a diária.

At the hotel counter, the guest asked about breakfast and about the daily rate.

Breakdown of No balcão do hotel, a hóspede perguntou sobre o café da manhã e sobre a diária.

• e: and
• sobre: about
• do: of the
• o hotel: the hotel

Questions & Answers about No balcão do hotel, a hóspede perguntou sobre o café da manhã e sobre a diária.

Why is it no balcão and not em o balcão?

Because no is the normal contraction of em + o in Portuguese.

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So:

• no balcão = at/on the counter
• na recepção = at the reception/front desk area

Portuguese uses these contractions all the time, and using em o here would sound unnatural.

Does balcão mean balcony?

No. This is a very useful false-friend warning.

• balcão = counter, service desk, bar counter
• balcony = varanda or sacada, depending on context

So No balcão do hotel means At the hotel counter/front desk, not anything related to a balcony.

Why is it a hóspede if hóspede ends in -e?

Because not all Portuguese nouns show gender through the ending.

Hóspede can refer to a male or female guest, and the article tells you the gender:

• o hóspede = the male guest
• a hóspede = the female guest

So in this sentence, a hóspede tells you the guest is female.

This is a good example of how grammatical gender in Portuguese is often shown by the article, not just by the noun ending.