Questions & Answers about Tu queres ir à cidade?
Why do we use tu here instead of você in European Portuguese?
In Portugal, using tu is the more common and informal way to address someone you know well (such as a friend or family member). Você can sound more formal or distant in European Portuguese, whereas in Brazilian Portuguese, você is used in most informal contexts.
Why is the verb form queres used instead of quer?
The verb querer (to want) in the second-person singular (tu) conjugates as queres in European Portuguese. Quer corresponds to the third-person singular form (ele/ela/você). Since the sentence is addressing tu, we use queres.
Is tu always used in Portugal to address someone informally?
Generally, yes, tu is the common informal pronoun. However, in some regions of Portugal, people might use você informally, or they might use tu but still conjugate verbs in the third person. It depends on regional or personal preference, but in standard European Portuguese grammar, tu is the informal second-person pronoun.
How is à cidade pronounced and why is it spelled with à?
You pronounce à similarly to a short "ah" sound: /a/. The accent mark (the grave accent) is used here because it's actually a contraction of a + a (the preposition a plus the article a). Written together, they become à, meaning "to the".
Do we need to raise our intonation at the end of the sentence to indicate it's a question?
Yes, in spoken Portuguese, especially informal conversation, rising intonation at the end of the sentence helps indicate it's a question. Written Portuguese has the question mark (?), but in speech, you’ll also naturally raise your pitch to show you’re asking.
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