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Eu quero vender o meu carro.

Eu quero vender o meu carro.
I want to sell my car.
FromLesson 36inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Eu quero vender o meu carro.

eu
I
meu
my
querer
to want
o carro
the car
vender
to sell

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?
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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