Breakdown of A Ana prefere uma tosta de queijo e fiambre sem muita manteiga.
Ana
Ana
de
of
e
and
sem
without
uma
a
muito
much
preferir
to prefer
o queijo
the cheese
a manteiga
the butter
o fiambre
the ham
a tosta
the toasted sandwich
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Questions & Answers about A Ana prefere uma tosta de queijo e fiambre sem muita manteiga.
Why is there an article A before Ana?
In European Portuguese, it’s common to use the definite article before personal names: a Ana, o João. It often sounds natural and colloquial. You don’t use it in direct address (e.g., Ana, queres…?). In Brazilian Portuguese, the article before names is generally avoided.
Is this A the preposition meaning to?
No. Here A is the definite article (the), feminine singular. The preposition to is also a, but when it combines with the article before a feminine noun/name it contracts to à (with an accent): dei o livro à Ana. In our sentence it’s just the article at the start.
Can I drop the article and say Ana prefere…?
Yes. Ana prefere… is also correct. In Portugal, including the article is very common in speech and in some regions; in formal writing it’s often omitted.
Why is it prefere here? What’s the conjugation of preferir?
The subject A Ana is third person singular, so present indicative is prefere. Present indicative of preferir:
- eu prefiro
- tu preferes
- ele/ela/você prefere
- nós preferimos
- vocês/eles/elas preferem
Could I use gostar instead of preferir?
You can, but the structure changes because gostar takes de:
- General liking: A Ana gosta de tostas de queijo e fiambre.
- A specific item: A Ana gosta desta tosta. Preferir takes a direct object and expresses preference rather than simple liking.
Why uma and not um?
Tosta is feminine in Portugal, so the correct article is uma tosta. Masculine would be um.
What exactly is a tosta in Portugal? Is it the same as toast?
A tosta is a toasted sandwich (often pressed). Plain toasted bread is torrada. A regular sandwich is sanduíche (or sandes colloquially).
Why de queijo e fiambre and not com queijo e fiambre?
With items like tosta/sanduíche/pizza, de commonly indicates type or composition: tosta de queijo e fiambre. Com is also possible and understandable, but de is the idiomatic choice for naming what something is made of.
Do I have to repeat de before both nouns (de queijo e de fiambre)?
No. One de covers both: de queijo e fiambre. Repeating de isn’t wrong but it’s unnecessary here.
What does fiambre mean? How is it different from presunto?
In Portugal, fiambre is cooked/sliced ham (typical sandwich ham). Presunto is dry-cured ham (like prosciutto). In Brazil, presunto is the usual word for sandwich ham; fiambre is rare.
Is tosta de queijo e fiambre the same as tosta mista?
Yes. A tosta mista is a ham-and-cheese toastie. Tosta de queijo e fiambre spells out the filling; mista is the standard name.
Why muita manteiga and not muito manteiga?
When muito means much/many before a noun, it agrees in gender/number. Manteiga is feminine singular, so muita manteiga. Examples:
- muito pão (masc. sing.)
- muita manteiga (fem. sing.)
- muitos pães (masc. pl.)
- muitas sopas (fem. pl.) When muito means very before adjectives/adverbs, it doesn’t change: muito bom, muito bem.
Does sem muita manteiga mean no butter at all?
It means without much butter (i.e., not a lot). For zero butter, say sem manteiga. If you want explicitly little, say com pouca manteiga. To avoid excess: sem demasiada manteiga.
Can sem muita manteiga go in a different position?
The default is at the end: … fiambre sem muita manteiga. You can front it for emphasis: Sem muita manteiga, a Ana prefere… Mid-sentence with commas is possible but less natural in everyday speech.
Any quick pronunciation tips (Portugal)?
Approximate European Portuguese:
- A Ana [ɐ ˈɐ.nɐ]
- prefere [pɾɨˈfɛɾɨ]
- uma tosta [ˈumɐ ˈtɔʃ.tɐ] (s in tosta sounds like sh)
- de [dɨ] (very reduced)
- queijo [ˈkɐj.ʒu] (KAY-zhoo)
- e (and) [i] (ee)
- fiambre [fjɐ̃ˈbɾɨ] (final e is a weak uh)
- sem [sɐ̃j̃] (nasal)
- muita [ˈmuj.tɐ]
- manteiga [mɐ̃ˈtɐj.ɣɐ]
How is the conjunction e pronounced?
In European Portuguese, e (and) is pronounced [i], like English ee. So queijo e fiambre sounds like KAY‑zhoo ee fyaam‑bruh.
Do I need the article uma when ordering?
In speech you normally include it: Queria uma tosta mista… On menus or signs you’ll see bare nouns (Tosta mista). Dropping uma in speech can sound telegraphic.
Is any comma needed in this sentence?
No. Sem muita manteiga is part of the noun phrase, so no comma. You’d add a comma only if you moved it for emphasis: Sem muita manteiga, a Ana prefere…
How could I say this politely when ordering in Portugal?
Natural options:
- Queria uma tosta mista, com pouca manteiga, se faz favor.
- Para mim, uma tosta mista com pouca manteiga, por favor.
- Pode ser uma tosta mista, sem muita manteiga?
Are there differences in Brazil for this sentence?
Yes:
- Article before names: usually omitted (Ana prefere…).
- The item: misto‑quente for a ham‑and‑cheese toastie.
- Ham word: presunto instead of fiambre. A Brazilian-style version: Ana prefere um misto‑quente com pouca manteiga.