Tu precisas de outro?

Do you need another one?

Breakdown of Tu precisas de outro?

• tu: you
• precisar de: to need
• outro: another one

Questions & Answers about Tu precisas de outro?

Why does the verb precisar need the preposition de in this sentence?

In European Portuguese, precisar is almost always followed by de when you say “to need something.” So you say precisar de algo (need something). You cannot drop the de here—“Tu precisas outro?” would be ungrammatical.

Why is there no article um before outro? Shouldn’t it be “um outro”?

When outro functions as a pronoun (“another one”), no article is needed. Outro by itself already means “another (one).” If you add um, you get a slight redundancy—“um outro” would literally be “a another,” which is usually avoided.

What exactly does outro stand for here, since there’s no noun after it?

Here outro is a substitute for a previously mentioned countable item (e.g. a bottle, a cookie). It works like English “another one.” The noun is understood from context, so you don’t have to repeat it.

If the item were feminine, would I say outra instead of outro?

Yes. Outro agrees in gender and number with the missing noun. So if it replaces a feminine noun you say outra; for plural you’d say outros (masc.) or outras (fem.).

Can I drop the subject pronoun tu and simply say “Precisas de outro?”?

Absolutely. Portuguese is a pro-drop language. The verb ending -as on precisas already tells you the subject is tu, so “Precisas de outro?” is perfectly natural and even more common in casual speech.

Why is it tu precisas and not você precisa?

In Portugal, tu is the normal informal “you” used among friends and family. If you used você, you’d have to conjugate in the 3rd person: “Você precisa de outro?”. Brazilians tend to use você widely, whereas in Portugal tu is dominant in the informal register.

Could I use mais um instead of outro to say “another one”?

Yes. Mais um (literally “one more”) is a perfectly valid alternative: “Tu precisas de mais um?”. It often sounds even more natural when you’re counting discrete items (e.g. “Do you need one more?”).

How would I answer if I do want another?

You can reply simply:

• “Sim, preciso.” (“Yes, I need [it].”)
• Or more fully: “Sim, preciso de outro.”

And how would I refuse politely?

You can say:

• “Não, obrigado.” if you’re male
• “Não, obrigada.” if you’re female
  This literally means “No, thanks,” and is the standard polite refusal in Portuguese.