Questions & Answers about Eu quero vender o meu carro.
Can I drop the subject pronoun “Eu”?
Yes. European Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject. So Quero vender o meu carro is the most natural everyday version. Keep Eu for emphasis or contrast: Eu quero vender o meu carro (não o teu).
Why is there an article “o” before “meu”? Why not just “meu carro”?
In European Portuguese, possessives normally take the definite article: o meu carro, a minha casa, os meus livros, as minhas chaves. Omitting the article is typical of Brazilian Portuguese and sounds unusual in Portugal except in a few contexts (see next question).
So is “meu carro” wrong in Portugal?
Not exactly “wrong,” but it’s marked. In EP you usually say o meu carro. You may see the article omitted in:
- Predicative uses after “ser”: É meu (“It’s mine”) or É meu carro (less common than É o meu carro).
- Poetry/slogans or when vocatively addressing someone: Meu amigo! For everyday speech before a noun, stick with o meu.
How do I replace “o meu carro” with “it”?
Use a clitic object pronoun attached to the infinitive:
- Masculine singular (carro): Quero vendê-lo.
- Feminine singular: Quero vendê-la.
- Plural: Quero vendê-los / vendê-las. Note the hyphen and the accent: after an infinitive ending in -r, -s, or -z, the final consonant drops and the pronoun becomes -lo/-la/-los/-las (e.g., vender + o → vendê-lo).
Where does the pronoun go with two verbs, and what about negation?
- Affirmative: attach to the infinitive: Quero vendê-lo.
- Negative (both are accepted in EP):
- Proclisis to the finite verb: Não o quero vender.
- Enclisis to the infinitive: Não quero vendê-lo. Avoid attaching to the finite verb in negation: ❌ Não quero-o vender.
Is “Eu quero…” too direct or rude?
It can sound blunt in requests. Softer options:
- Queria vender o meu carro. (imperfect for politeness)
- Gostava de vender o meu carro. (I’d like to…)
- Pretendo vender o meu carro. (I intend to…) In shops/offices, use Queria… or Gostava de… to be polite.
Do I need a preposition before the infinitive “vender” after “querer”?
No. Querer takes the infinitive directly: Quero vender…
Some other verbs do take prepositions:
- Começar a vender, continuar a vender, estar a vender (EP progressive)
- Tentar vender (no preposition)
- Precisar de vender
What’s the difference between “Quero vender…”, “Estou a vender…”, and “Vou vender…”?
- Quero vender o meu carro: I want/intend to sell it (desire/intention).
- Estou a vender o meu carro: I’m in the process of selling it / it’s currently up for sale (EP progressive).
- Vou vender o meu carro: I’m going to sell it (plan/near future).
How do I say “I don’t want to sell my car”?
Não quero vender o meu carro.
With a pronoun: Não o quero vender or Não quero vendê-lo (both fine in EP).
How do I pronounce the sentence in European Portuguese?
Approximate IPA: [ew ˈkɛɾu vẽˈdeɾ u mew ˈkaʁu]
- Eu = [ew]
- quero = [ˈkɛɾu] (single r = tap [ɾ])
- vender = [vẽˈdeɾ] (first vowel nasalized)
- o (article) often reduces to [u]
- meu = [mew]
- carro = [ˈkaʁu] (rr = strong uvular sound [ʁ] in EP) Stress: que-RO, ven-DER, CAR-ro.
How do possessives agree with gender/number?
They agree with the noun:
- Masculine: o meu carro / os meus carros
- Feminine: a minha casa / as minhas casas Other persons:
- o teu / a tua (your, informal singular)
- o seu / a sua (your, formal; his/her/its—the article shows the noun’s gender, not the owner’s) To avoid ambiguity with seu/sua, you can say o carro dele/dela (his/her).
How do I ask “Do you want to sell your car?” (informal vs. formal)?
- Informal (tu): Queres vender o teu carro?
- Formal (você): Quer vender o seu carro? Plural “you” (vocês): Querem vender o vosso carro?
How do I say “sell it to him/her/them”?
Use a for “to,” and contract with the article:
- Quero vendê-lo ao João. (a + o → ao)
- Quero vendê-lo à Maria. (a + a → à) If you combine indirect + direct object clitics, the classic form is vender-lho (“sell it to him/her”), but in modern speech many prefer an explicit complement: Quero vendê-lo a ele/ela.
Can I say “Eu quero a vender o meu carro”?
No. After querer, don’t insert a preposition: Quero vender o meu carro.
But with other verbs you might use a: Comecei a vender o meu carro online.
For the progressive in EP: Estou a vender o meu carro.
How do I express purpose or price with “for”?
- Purpose: para — Quero vender o meu carro para pagar a renda.
- Price/exchange: por — Quero vender o meu carro por 5.000 euros.
What’s the difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese here?
- Article with possessive: EP prefers o meu carro; BP often says meu carro.
- Progressive: EP estar a vender; BP estar vendendo.
- Clitic placement differs in various contexts; the EP patterns given above are the norm in Portugal.
Are there more formal/alternative words for “carro”?
Yes:
- carro = the everyday word for “car.”
- automóvel = more formal/literary or legal.
- viatura = often used in official contexts (police, administration).
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