A senhora quer provar a manga antes de levar o melão?

to want

Breakdown of A senhora quer provar a manga antes de levar o melão?

• antes de: before
• levar: to take
• a senhora: you (polite)

Questions & Answers about A senhora quer provar a manga antes de levar o melão?

Why does the sentence start with A senhora instead of just você?

A senhora is a polite, formal way to say you when speaking to a woman in Brazilian Portuguese. It is similar to saying ma’am or using a more respectful form of address in English.

So:

• você quer... = you want... / do you want...
• a senhora quer... = do you want..., ma’am?

Even though senhora literally means lady or madam, in sentences like this it functions as a polite you.

Why is there an article in a senhora?

Portuguese often uses a definite article before nouns and titles much more than English does.

So a senhora literally looks like the lady, but in real usage it often means you, ma’am.

This is completely normal in Portuguese. The article is part of the expression and does not sound strange to native speakers.

Why is quer used here? Does it mean want?