Question 1

What form is the verb in, and who is being addressed?

Accepted Answer

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....

Question 2

Why do I sometimes see Confirme instead of Confirma on Portuguese machines or signs?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

Is this sentence polite or too direct?

Accepted Answer

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)

Question 4

How is the tu imperative formed here?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 5

What does no mean here, and why not do?

Accepted Answer

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.”

Question 6

Can I put por favor at the beginning or in the middle?

Accepted Answer

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)

Question 7

Is there a more natural word than recibo in Portugal?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 8

Should it be o valor or could I say o preço?

Accepted Answer

- 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.

Question 9

Is the definite article o necessary before valor and recibo?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 10

How would I say this to more than one person?

Accepted Answer

Use the vocês imperative: Confirmem o valor no recibo, por favor.

Question 11

How do I make it negative (Don’t confirm...)?

Accepted Answer

Use the present subjunctive:
- tu: Não confirmes o valor...
- você: Não confirme o valor...
- vocês: Não confirmem o valor...

Question 12

Could I turn it into a question to sound softer?

Accepted Answer

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?

Question 13

Can I use other verbs like verificar or conferir?

Accepted Answer

- 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.

Question 14

How would I attach a pronoun if I said “Confirm it, please”?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 15

Any tips on pronunciation (European Portuguese)?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 16

Is there a specifically European Portuguese way to say “please” here?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 17

How does this differ from Brazilian Portuguese?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 18

Is the word order o valor no recibo fixed?

Accepted Answer

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).

Confirma o valor no recibo, por favor.

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