Breakdown of Confirma o valor no recibo, por favor.
por favor
please
em
on
confirmar
to confirm
o recibo
the receipt
o valor
the amount
Questions & Answers about Confirma o valor no recibo, por favor.
What form is the verb in, and who is being addressed?
The verb confirma is the affirmative imperative for tu (informal singular you). So Confirma o valor... is addressing one person informally. The corresponding formal form (for você, or when addressing a stranger/customer formally) would be Confirme o valor....
Why do I sometimes see Confirme instead of Confirma on Portuguese machines or signs?
Because public messages tend to use the formal address. On card terminals in Portugal, you’ll typically see Confirme o valor (formal), not Confirma (informal). Your sentence with Confirma sounds like an informal spoken request.
Is this sentence polite or too direct?
It’s polite enough among people who use tu with each other, especially with por favor. In a formal or customer-facing context, prefer:
- Confirme o valor no recibo, por favor.
- Pode confirmar o valor no recibo, por favor? (softer)
- Faça favor de confirmar o valor no recibo. (very Portuguese-European)
How is the tu imperative formed here?
For most verbs, the affirmative tu imperative looks like the present indicative without the final -s:
- tu confirmas → confirma
- tu falas → fala
- tu bebes → bebe
- tu abres → abre Note: the negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: Não confirmes.
What does no mean here, and why not do?
no = contraction of em + o = “in/on the.” So no recibo means “on the receipt.”
do = contraction of de + o = “of the.” o valor do recibo would mean “the receipt’s value/amount,” which isn’t what you want when you mean “the amount that appears on the receipt.”
Can I put por favor at the beginning or in the middle?
Yes. All are acceptable:
- Por favor, confirma o valor no recibo.
- Confirma, por favor, o valor no recibo.
- Confirma o valor no recibo, por favor. (most common)
Is there a more natural word than recibo in Portugal?
Depends on context:
- fatura: the invoice/receipt with tax details (very common in shops/restaurants).
- talão (de caixa): till receipt/receipt slip.
- recibo: receipt in a general sense; also used for payment receipts or in expressions like recibos verdes (self-employed invoices). In a shop, fatura or talão is often what people say. Your sentence is still clear and correct.
Should it be o valor or could I say o preço?
- valor = the amount/sum to pay (neutral and general; very common on terminals).
- preço = the price of an item. If you’re confirming the payment amount shown on a document/terminal, valor is the best choice.
Is the definite article o necessary before valor and recibo?
Yes, Portuguese usually uses definite articles with specific nouns. Here you’re referring to a specific amount and a specific receipt, so o valor and o recibo are natural. Dropping the article (Confirma valor no recibo) sounds ungrammatical.
How would I say this to more than one person?
Use the vocês imperative: Confirmem o valor no recibo, por favor.
How do I make it negative (Don’t confirm...)?
Use the present subjunctive:
- tu: Não confirmes o valor...
- você: Não confirme o valor...
- vocês: Não confirmem o valor...
Could I turn it into a question to sound softer?
Yes:
- Informal: Podes confirmar o valor no recibo, por favor?
- Formal: Pode confirmar o valor no recibo, por favor?
- More formal: Poderia confirmar o valor no recibo, por favor?
Can I use other verbs like verificar or conferir?
- verificar is common and neutral in Portugal: Verifique/Verifica o valor...
- conferir meaning “to check” is understood in Portugal but is more frequent in Brazil; in Portugal, conferir also means “to confer/grant.” In PT service contexts, confirmar or verificar is safer.
How would I attach a pronoun if I said “Confirm it, please”?
With the affirmative imperative in European Portuguese, attach the pronoun with a hyphen:
- Confirma-o, por favor. (informal tu)
- Confirme-o, por favor. (formal você) In the negative, the pronoun goes before the verb:
- Não o confirmes/Não o confirme.
Any tips on pronunciation (European Portuguese)?
Approximate EP pronunciation:
Confirma o valor no recibo, por favor. → [kõ-FEER-mɐ u vɐ-LOR nu ʁɨ-SEE-bu, por fɐ-VOR]
Notes:
- Initial r in recibo is a guttural sound [ʁ].
- Unstressed o in no sounds like [u] → [nu].
- Final r in valor/favor is a light tap [ɾ] in many accents.
Is there a specifically European Portuguese way to say “please” here?
Yes, besides por favor, Portugal often uses:
- se faz favor (very common and polite): Confirme o valor no recibo, se faz favor.
- faça favor de... (more formal): Faça favor de confirmar o valor no recibo.
- Informal with tu: faz favor.
How does this differ from Brazilian Portuguese?
Brazil would typically use the formal-like imperative or a question form:
- Confirme o valor no recibo, por favor.
- Você pode confirmar o valor no recibo, por favor? Also, in Brazil you often hear comprovante for a card slip: no comprovante. In Portugal, fatura/talão are more common.
Is the word order o valor no recibo fixed?
Yes, keep it as o valor no recibo. Reversing it (no recibo o valor) sounds marked/odd. The natural order is verb + direct object (o valor) + locative complement (no recibo).
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