Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O que é que a Ana disse sobre a reunião?

In European Portuguese, é que is a very common interrogative linker. It doesn’t add meaning; it makes the question sound natural while keeping normal subject–verb order. So O que é que a Ana disse…? is the most neutral, everyday way to say “What did Ana say…?”

Can I drop é que and still be correct?

As a direct question without inversion: O que a Ana disse…? is not standard in European Portuguese.
Two correct alternatives:
- O que é que a Ana disse…? (most common, neutral)
- O que disse a Ana…? (verb–subject inversion; a bit more formal/literary)
You’ll also see the very formal Que disse a Ana…?, but that’s stylistically marked.

Why is it o que here and not o quê or just que?

o que = “what” in the middle of a sentence: O que é que a Ana disse…?
o quê (with accent) is used only when it’s stressed at the end or standing alone: O quê?
que alone is used before nouns (Que reunião? = “Which/what meeting?”) or in very formal inversion (Que disse a Ana?).

Why is there an a before Ana (i.e., a Ana)?

In Portugal, people commonly use the definite article with personal names: a Ana, o João. It’s natural in speech and most writing. You don’t use it when directly addressing the person (e.g., Ana, …). In Brazilian Portuguese it’s usually omitted.

What exactly is disse?

disse is the simple past (preterite) of dizer (to say) for ele/ela/você. Mini-paradigm:

Eu disse
Tu disseste
Ele/Ela/Você disse
Nós dissemos
Vocês/Eles/Elas disseram

Could I use falou instead of disse?

In European Portuguese, use dizer for “to say (specific content)” and falar for “to speak/talk (in general).”

Natural: O que é que a Ana disse sobre a reunião?
Different meaning: A Ana falou sobre a reunião. (“Ana spoke about the meeting.”)
O que é que a Ana falou…? sounds off in EP.

Is sobre the only way to say “about” here?

sobre is the default and safest. Other options:

acerca de (more formal/bookish)
a respeito de (formal, less common in EP)
Sometimes de works with certain verbs (e.g., falar de), but with dizer, sobre is more straightforward: O que é que a Ana disse sobre a reunião?

How do I make the question negative?

Put não right before the verb:

O que é que a Ana não disse sobre a reunião? (What did Ana not say about the meeting?) You don’t put não before é que.

Is there a more formal word-order option?

Yes, verb–subject inversion:

O que disse a Ana sobre a reunião? That’s perfectly correct but more formal. Everyday speech prefers O que é que a Ana disse…?

How would I answer this question naturally?

Start with Ela disse que… or A Ana disse que…

Example: Ela disse que a reunião foi adiada. (She said the meeting was postponed.)
If reporting exact words, introduce them with a dash or colon, or use disse
- direct speech.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence (European Portuguese)?

Approximate IPA: [u kɨ ˈɛ kɨ ɐ ˈɐnɐ ˈdisɨ ˈsobɾɨ ɐ ʁewniˈɐ̃w̃]
Tips:

o = [u] like “oo”
que = [kɨ] (unrounded, very short)
é = open “eh” [ɛ]
disse = [ˈdisɨ]
reunião ends with nasal -ão [ɐ̃w̃] (nasalized “own”)
a Ana has two adjacent vowels; in fast speech it flows as one beat.

Why is it o que é que in the past? Shouldn’t it be foi que?

In European Portuguese, you keep é que regardless of tense of the main verb: O que é que a Ana disse…?
In Brazilian Portuguese, you’ll hear foi que in past contexts (e.g., O que foi que a Ana disse?), but that’s not the norm in Portugal.

Can I use qual instead of o que?

Generally, o que = “what (open-ended)”; qual = “which (selection).”

Your sentence asks for open-ended content, so o que is right.
Qual would fit something like Qual foi a opinião da Ana sobre a reunião? (“Which/What was Ana’s opinion…?”) where you expect a labeled choice or category.

Is the article in sobre a reunião required?

If you mean a specific meeting, yes: sobre a reunião = “about the meeting.”

Generic: sobre reuniões (“about meetings” in general)
Indefinite: sobre uma reunião (“about a meeting,” not specified)

Can I front the topic: Sobre a reunião, o que é que a Ana disse?

Yes. Topicalization like that is natural in Portuguese and can sound very clear and fluent.

Does é que combine with other question words too?

Yes, very often in EP:

Quem é que veio? (Who came?)
Onde é que ela trabalha? (Where does she work?)
Quando é que chegam? (When do they arrive?)
Como é que fizeste isso? (How did you do that?) Note: With “why,” EP typically uses Por que é que…? (spelled in two words).

Where would object pronouns go if I ask “What did she say to you?”

Interrogatives trigger proclisis (pronoun before the verb) in EP:

O que é que ela te disse? (not: disse-te here)
With no trigger (in statements), enclisis is common: Ela disse-te isso.

Is dizer de possible, as in “What did she say of the meeting?”

You may hear dizer de in certain idiomatic or evaluative contexts (O que dizes disto? = “What do you say of this?”), but for your sentence the neutral, broad “about” is best with sobre: …disse sobre a reunião.

Can I use this structure inside a longer sentence?

In careful writing, embedded questions usually drop é que:

Diz-me o que a Ana disse sobre a reunião. In casual speech you will hear Diz-me o que é que a Ana disse…, but many style guides prefer omitting é que in embedded clauses.