Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Tu podes perguntar à farmacêutica como tomar o remédio? - Can you ask the pharmacist how to take the medicine?

tu is the informal second-person singular subject pronoun in European Portuguese. It tells us who is doing the asking (you, informally). It isn’t strictly mandatory—because Portuguese verbs carry the subject in their endings, you could simply say Podes perguntar à farmacêutica…. Including tu adds emphasis or clarity.

What’s the difference between tu podes and você pode?

tu + podes is the familiar form used in Portugal (and some Brazilian regions) for “you can.” você + pode is a more neutral or formal form, very common in Brazil. The verb must agree: with tu you say podes, with você you say pode.

Why is the verb podes spelled with an “s” at the end?

Because podes is the present-tense, second-person singular form of the irregular verb poder (to be able). The “s” marks that it’s tu-form. The third-person singular (ele/ela/você) would be pode (no “s”).

Why is it written à farmacêutica instead of a farmacêutica?

When the preposition a (to) meets the feminine definite article a, they contract to à. This contraction (a + a = à) is mandatory in writing.

If the pharmacist is male, how would you change à farmacêutica?

You’d use the masculine article and noun: ao farmacêutico (because a + o farmacêutico = ao farmacêutico).

Can I omit the article and just say perguntar a farmacêutica?

In very informal speech you might hear it, but standard European Portuguese normally requires the definite article with professions and roles (e.g. falar com o médico, ir ao dentista, perguntar à farmacêutica). Omitting it can sound odd.

Why is tomar in its infinitive form instead of a conjugated verb?

Because you’re embedding an indirect question that asks for instructions (“how to take the medicine”). Portuguese often uses the infinitive to express general instructions. A conjugated form (e.g. como toma o remédio) would mean “how does he/she take the medicine,” which is a different nuance.

Is there a difference between como tomar o remédio and como se toma o remédio?

Yes. como tomar o remédio (infinitive) focuses on “how to take the medicine” from the asker’s viewpoint. como se toma o remédio (impersonal with se) also asks for instructions but generalizes the procedure (“how one takes the medicine”). Both are correct and common.

Why doesn’t the sentence invert to Podes tu perguntar… like some other questions?

In Portuguese you can form yes/no questions simply by intonation or by keeping the normal subject-verb order: Tu podes perguntar…? is perfectly natural. Inversion to Podes tu perguntar…? is grammatically correct but less common in everyday speech.

How could I make this question more polite or formal?

You can use the conditional of poder and/or switch to você:
• Você poderia perguntar à farmacêutica como tomar o remédio?
Or add seria possível:
• Seria possível perguntar à farmacêutica como tomar o remédio?