Word
De onde você comprou esse sorvete? Daquela loja perto da vitrine grande.
Meaning
Where did you buy that ice cream? From that store near the big display window.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of De onde você comprou esse sorvete? Daquela loja perto da vitrine grande.
você
you
grande
big
comprar
to buy
perto de
near
Questions & Answers about De onde você comprou esse sorvete? Daquela loja perto da vitrine grande.
Why does the sentence use de onde instead of just onde?
De onde means from where, so it focuses on the source or origin.
That fits well with comprar, because you are asking where something was bought from. The answer also matches that structure:
- De onde...?
- Daquela loja...
So the de in the question is mirrored by the da in the answer.
That said, in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, many people also ask Onde você comprou esse sorvete?, which is very common and natural.
Can I say Onde você comprou esse sorvete? instead?
Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, Onde você comprou esse sorvete? is extremely common.
The difference is mainly nuance:
- Onde você comprou...? = where did you buy it?
- De onde você comprou...? = from where did you buy it?
In real conversation, onde is often the more usual choice, while de onde sounds a bit more explicitly focused on the source.
Why is você included? Can it be omitted?