Word
A senhora pode reler a introdução e me dizer se o argumento está claro?
Meaning
Can you reread the introduction and tell me whether the argument is clear, ma’am?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of A senhora pode reler a introdução e me dizer se o argumento está claro?
estar
to be
e
and
me
me
poder
can
Questions & Answers about A senhora pode reler a introdução e me dizer se o argumento está claro?
Why does the sentence use A senhora instead of just você?
A senhora is a formal and respectful way to say you when speaking to a woman in Brazilian Portuguese.
So:
- você = neutral/common you
- a senhora = more polite/formal you for a woman
This sentence would be appropriate in situations like speaking to:
- a professor
- an older woman
- a client
- someone you want to address very politely
If you were speaking less formally, you could say:
- Você pode reler a introdução e me dizer se o argumento está claro?
The meaning stays basically the same, but the level of formality changes.
Why is there an a before senhora?
In Portuguese, forms of address like o senhor and a senhora normally include the article:
- o senhor = formal you for a man
- a senhora = formal you for a woman
Even though senhora literally means lady or madam, in sentences like this it functions as a pronoun of address.
So A senhora pode... means Can you... ? in a formal way, not The lady can... in the usual literal sense.