Breakdown of A senhora pode experimentar estes óculos aqui, se quiser.
Questions & Answers about A senhora pode experimentar estes óculos aqui, se quiser.
Why is a senhora used here instead of você?
A senhora is a polite, more formal way to say you when speaking to a woman. In Brazil, this is very common in customer service, with strangers, or when showing respect, especially to an older woman.
A less formal version would be:
For a man, you would use o senhor.
Depending on the situation, a senhora can sound respectful, professional, or a bit distant.
Why is there an a before senhora?
Because a senhora is the normal full expression. In Portuguese, forms like a senhora and o senhor include the definite article.
So the subject is not just senhora but a senhora.
At the beginning of the sentence, the a is capitalized only because it starts the sentence:
- A senhora pode...
Why does it say pode if it means you can?
Because a senhora takes third-person singular verb forms in Portuguese.
So even though it means you, grammatically it behaves like she:
- A senhora pode
- A senhora quer
- A senhora precisa
This is also true for você in Brazilian Portuguese:
- Você pode
- Você quer
So pode is exactly the form you should expect here.
Does experimentar really mean try on here?
Yes. In this sentence, experimentar means to try on.
It is commonly used for things like:
- clothes
- shoes
- glasses
- accessories
So experimentar estes óculos means try on these glasses.
In Brazil, provar can also be used for try on clothing or accessories. But experimentar is very natural and clear here.
Why is óculos plural?
Because óculos is normally treated as a plural noun in Portuguese when it means glasses or eyeglasses.
So standard agreement is plural:
- estes óculos
- meus óculos
- os óculos
If you want to refer to one item, you usually say:
- um par de óculos = a pair of glasses
The singular óculo exists in technical or specialized uses, but it is not the normal everyday word for a pair of glasses.
Why is it estes óculos and not esses óculos?
In the more traditional grammar system:
- este/estes = near the speaker
- esse/esses = near the listener or already mentioned
- aquele/aqueles = farther away
So estes óculos suggests these glasses here, near the person speaking.
However, in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, many people use esse/esses in places where textbooks would expect este/estes. So in real speech, esses óculos would also sound very normal in many situations.
This sentence uses the more careful, standard distinction.
What does aqui add to the sentence?
Aqui means here, and it adds a sense of pointing something out physically.
So estes óculos aqui is like saying:
- these glasses here
It helps the speaker indicate the exact glasses they are offering.
Without aqui, the sentence is still correct:
But aqui makes it feel more immediate and natural in a real in-store situation.
Why is it se quiser and not se quer?
Because after se in this kind of future or possible condition, Portuguese normally uses the future subjunctive.
The verb querer in the future subjunctive is quiser.
So:
- se quiser = if you want / if you’d like
This is a very common pattern:
- se puder = if you can
- se tiver = if you have
- se for = if it is / if you go
So se quiser is the correct form here.
Is se quiser necessary?
No. The sentence is complete without it:
Adding se quiser makes the sentence softer and more polite. It works like:
- if you want
- if you’d like
That kind of extra softening is very common in polite Brazilian Portuguese.
You could also say:
- A senhora pode experimentar estes óculos aqui, se a senhora quiser.
But repeating a senhora is not necessary, because the subject is already understood.
Could this sentence sound too formal?
Yes, depending on the context.
A senhora is polite and appropriate in many service situations, but with a younger woman or in a casual setting, it may sound overly formal, distant, or as if you are treating her as older than she is.
In a more neutral everyday situation, many Brazilians would prefer:
So the best choice depends on the relationship, age, and level of formality.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PortugueseMaster Portuguese — from A senhora pode experimentar estes óculos aqui, se quiser to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions