Breakdown of Senhora, quer que eu lhe marque um corte com a cabeleireira para a próxima semana?
Questions & Answers about Senhora, quer que eu lhe marque um corte com a cabeleireira para a próxima semana?
What does Senhora mean here?
Why is it quer and not queres?
Why isn’t the subject pronoun written, like a senhora quer?
Why does the sentence use quer que eu marque instead of just an infinitive?
Because the two actions have different subjects:
- the woman wants
- I book the appointment
When Portuguese has querer plus another action done by a different person, it normally uses:
querer + que + subjunctive
So:
- Quer que eu marque...? = Do you want me to book...?
If the same person does both actions, Portuguese often uses the infinitive instead:
- Quer marcar um corte? = Do you want to book a haircut?
Why is it marque and not marco?
Because after quer que, Portuguese uses the present subjunctive.
- eu marco = indicative, plain statement: I book / I am booking
- que eu marque = subjunctive, used after expressions of wanting, doubt, emotion, etc.
So quer que eu marque literally means something like do you want that I book.
What does lhe mean in this sentence?
Why does lhe come before the verb: que eu lhe marque?
In European Portuguese, object pronouns often come before the verb in certain environments, especially in subordinate clauses introduced by words like que.
So:
- quer que eu lhe marque... is the normal pattern
This is a very common word order in European Portuguese.
What does marcar mean here? It can’t mean to mark, right?
What does um corte mean exactly?
Why does it say com a cabeleireira?
Why is it cabeleireira and not cabeleireiro?
Could the sentence use no cabeleireiro instead of com a cabeleireira?
What does para a próxima semana mean exactly?
Why is there an article in a próxima semana?
Can eu be omitted in que eu lhe marque?
Is this sentence very formal?
How would this sound in an informal tu version?
Could você be used here?
Grammatically, yes, but in Portugal, directly saying você can sound awkward, overly blunt, or even rude in some situations. Polite European Portuguese often prefers:
That is why Senhora, quer... sounds very natural in Portugal.
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