Eu quero uma recomendação.

I want a recommendation.

Breakdown of Eu quero uma recomendação.

• eu: I
• querer: to want
• uma: a
• a recomendação: the recommendation

Questions & Answers about Eu quero uma recomendação.

Why is the subject pronoun Eu explicitly stated even though the verb ending already indicates the subject?

In Portuguese, the subject pronoun can often be omitted because the verb’s conjugation makes it clear who is performing the action. However, including Eu can add emphasis or clarity, and it's common in both written and spoken contexts when the speaker wants to stress that it is indeed I who wants something.

How is the verb querer conjugated in this sentence, and what does quero mean?

Quero is the first-person singular present tense form of the irregular verb querer, which means to want. This conjugation matches the subject Eu, so quero translates directly to I want in English. It's important to note that querer is an irregular verb, so its forms do not always follow standard conjugation patterns.

Why is the indefinite article uma used instead of um?

Portuguese nouns have grammatical gender. The noun recomendação is feminine, so it must be preceded by the feminine indefinite article uma rather than the masculine um. This agreement between the article and the noun is a fundamental rule in Portuguese grammar.

What is the function of the accent (the tilde) in recomendação?

The tilde in recomendação appears over the ã and indicates a nasal vowel sound, which is crucial for correct pronunciation. Moreover, the ending -ção is typical in Portuguese, and the accent helps distinguish the proper emphasis and sound of the word.

Is the word order in Eu quero uma recomendação. similar to that in English, and can it be rearranged?

Yes, the sentence follows the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure, just like in English: Eu (I) leads, followed by quero (want), and then uma recomendação (a recommendation). Although Portuguese allows for some flexibility in word order due to its inflectional nature, this straightforward SVO arrangement is the most common and clear way to express the idea.